Amos Harel is one of Israel's leading media experts on military and defense issues. He has been the military correspondent and defense analyst for Haaretz for the last 12 years. In this role, he has written extensively about Israel's ongoing fight against terrorist organizations, its battles during the Palestinian Intifadah (uprising) and the last war in Lebanon.
Prior to his current position, Harel, 41, spent four years as night editor for the Haaretz Hebrew print edition, and from 1999-2005 was the anchorman on a weekly Army Radio program about defense issues. He also frequently appears in the Israeli and foreign media as a military pundit.
Along with Avi Issacharoff, Harel co-wrote "The Seventh War: How we won and why we lost the war with the Palestinians", a 2004 book about the second Intifadah. The book- a best-seller in Israel - has been translated into French and Arabic, and won the prestigious Chechic award in 2005, for outstanding security research.
Harel and Issacharoff's second book, "34 Days: Israel, Hezbollah and the War in Lebanon", about the war of 2006 was published in Hebrew in January 2008, and also became a best-seller. It was published in English, by Palgrave-Macmillan Books, in April 2008. "34 Days" also won the Chechic award in 2009.
Harel is a graduate of Tel Aviv University, with a bachelor's degree in Law. He is married with three children and lives in Hod Hasharon, in central Israel.
Russia demands Israeli army increase use of 'hotline' mechanism to prevent friction ■ S-300 missile defense systems provided to Syria will be manned first by Russian experts ■ Russian air defense radars in Syria were activated over Israeli air force activity
Putin didn't like Israel's strikes after Assad retook southern Syria. The spy plane incident provided him with tools to shape a new strategic reality
Hamas cells cross into Israel at night and the airborne firebombs are still being launched, but the real time bomb is the infrastructure crisis in Gaza
Israel hopes development will reduce risk of war with Hamas ■ Qatari aid aims to raise average from four to eight hours of electricity a day
What exactly happened over Syria's skies, play-by-play ■ Israel hopes Russia will ultimately forgive the downing of its plane, but much of it depends on Trump
The bloodiest day in Gaza for two months appears to stem from a decision by the group, one that follows an organized plan of action to rein in the violence at least until it rules that the time for a confrontation has come
Between Palestinians and Hezbollah, Israel tries to steer clear of an October surprise ■ As 2019 nears, IDF assessment sees improved strategic balance, but warning signs are already flashing ■ Israel may not see a new army chief any time soon
Gadi Eisenkot has given the IDF comptroller, Ilan Harari, 45 days to figure out if the ground forces really are unprepared
Israel wanted to send its national security adviser and looked into sending Netanyahu and Lieberman, but Moscow preferred for contacts to remain at the professional level
The new missile system provided by Russia is not a total barrier to airstrikes, but Israeli jets' freedom of action will be significantly curbed
With Israel insisting on its right to attack Iranian arms shipments to Hezbollah, Jerusalem is bound to face a dilemma soon
Israel is operating on borrowed time in Gaza
Russia will presumably try to curb Israel’s freedom of action over Syria, even if the Israeli inquiry found no fault. Either way, Trump is conspicuous in his absence
Asked whether shooting down the Russian aircraft would affect the Israeli air force’s freedom of action over Syria, Defense Minister Lieberman performed more evasion maneuvers than the Russian Ilyushin pilots did Monday night
Brig. Gen. Uri Oron, head of the Israeli Air Force Intelligence, talks to Haaretz about the fast-changing situation in the north, the new reality in Syria and how Israel maintains its aerial superiority
Critique of Israeli army’s readiness for war dogs IDF chief's exit ■ Hamas stokes fighting spirit in Gaza, the Tamimi family doing the same in West Bank
Monday’s incident near Latakia, in which 15 Russian soldiers were killed in a downed plane, might see Russia toughen its stance toward Israel and curtail the air force’s freedom of action in Syria
Unusual strikes attributed to Israel by Arab media ■ Missiles hit area near Russian military base injuring 10; Syrian military source says some were intercepted
China will operate Haifa port, near Israel's alleged nuclear-armed submarines, and it seems no one in Israel thought about the strategic ramifications
Netanyahu signals he seeks a Hamas deal without a prisoner exchange ■ Trump makes momentous declarations without considering the consequences