Israeli war objectives into an era of negativism

Israeli war objectives since the 1970s have gradually become more 'defensiv e' in nature. Four main factors have accounted for it: superpower constrain ts, difficulty in gaining public legitimization for war, the peace process, and the spread of surface-to-surface missiles in the Middle East. At the s ame time, Israel has gradually withdrawn from its unequivocal commitment to the achievement of battlefield decision, putting more emphasis on the achi evement of the political war objectives. The main reasons for this have bee n the strengthening of firepower relative to maneuver on the battlefield, t he difficulty in translating battlefield decision to political achievements , and the growing political constraints on the freedom of action on the bat tlefield.