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A CIA assessment has warned that Israel could face the risk of civil war or even a collapse of its state structure due to deepening political, economic and social divisions, according to Anadolu Agency.
The information was reportedly revealed in a classified assessment titled “Fracture from Within”, prepared by the CIA’s special unit known as the Red Cell, according to a report published Monday, October 4.
The assessment reportedly said several complex crises have converged ahead of Israel’s upcoming general election, creating an increasingly volatile situation. These include an economic downturn, soaring military spending, growing violence by Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank and public anger over exemptions from mandatory military service for ultra-Orthodox Jewish men.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s political struggle to remain in power has further deepened Israel’s political and constitutional crisis, the report said.
The prolonged wars have also intensified longstanding divisions within Israeli society. Large numbers of soldiers and reservists returning from prolonged military operations in Gaza, Lebanon and Iran are reportedly suffering from psychological trauma.
Meanwhile, growing public anger over exemptions allowing ultra-Orthodox men to avoid military service has emerged as another major source of tension.
The CIA also identified Israel’s growing international isolation and declining public support for the country in the United States as major contributing factors, according to the report.
It said external pressure and internal instability were combining to put Israel’s state structure under an unprecedented level of strain.
