The impact of internal politics on Israel's reprisal policy during the 1950s

Israel's policy of military reprisals has never seemed to follow any consistent pattern of tit-for-tat. On the one hand, not every violent incident was answered with a counter-attack. On the other hand, when Israel responded, frequently it employed an excessive amount of force, which was disproportional to the Arab provocation. This behavior has not been the consequence of a premeditated and rational strategy. Instead, it appears to have been the result of a political dispute between alternative approaches regarding the use of military force. The following research analyzes the development of this controversy and how these differences of opinion were resolved.