The Belgian FN FAL battle rifle had initially been adopted by the Israeli Defense Forces in the late 1950s (chambered for the 7.62×51mm cartridge).

The FAL had its limitations, a common complaint being that the abundant local sand and dust exposure would cause weapon malfunction (later attributed to lack of stringent maintenance).

Its length and malfunctions became such consistent issues that during the 1973 Yom Kippur War some soldiers began arming themselves with the much smaller Uzi.

Hence the IDF specifically sought a weapon that would offer the same benefits as AK-47, such as low maintenance requirements, but would also have the accuracy of the M16 and FN FAL.

[citation needed] An indigenous design was offered by Uziel Gal, creator of the Uzi submachine gun.

[11] The successful design was offered by Yisrael Galil, based on the 7.62×39mm Valmet Rk 62, an AK-47 derivative from Finland.

)[7] At the time, the US was replacing European countries (especially France) as Israel's main partner and weapons supplier.

Around 1975, 60,000 M16A1s from the U.S. Military Aid Program (MAP) began to arrive in Israel that were quickly integrated into IDF service.

The Galil SAR (G'lilon) was kept in use by some rear-line services, including the Knesset Guard[10] and the Artillery and Armored Corps, until around 2004.

For a short time, the Galil was licensed by NWM (Nederlandsche Wapen-en Munitiefabriek) De Kruithoorn N.V. for sales to a NATO country.

[17] The Galil series of rifles are selective fire weapons operated by a Kalashnikov-pattern gas-driven long-stroke piston system with no regulator.

The arrangement of parts on the bolt carrier assembly provides for a degree of free travel, allowing gas pressure in the barrel to drop to a safe level before unlocking.

To the immediate rear of the chrome-plated piston head is a notched ring which provides a reduced bearing surface and alleviates excess gas build-up.

As the bolt carrier travels back, it compresses the return spring guided in a hollowed section of the bolt carrier and the return energy contained in the spring drives the moving assembly back forward, stripping a new round from the magazine and locking the action.

Some models use a reverse-linkage RAS mechanism that performs the opposite action; pushing forward sets the rifle to Repetition or Automatic, and pulling rearward engages the safety, The Galil prototypes used a stamped and riveted sheet metal steel receiver, but due to the higher operating pressures of the 5.56×45mm cartridge, this solution was discarded and the designers turned to a heavy milled forging.

As a testament to its heritage, early prototypes were fabricated using Valmet Rk 62 receivers manufactured in Finland.

[18] All exterior metal surfaces are phosphated for corrosion resistance and then coated with a black enamel (except for the barrel, gas block, and front sight tower).

The weapon is fitted with a high-impact plastic handguard and pistol grip and a side-folding (folds to the right side) tubular steel skeleton stock.

Low-light flip-up front blade and rear sight elements have three self-luminous tritium capsules (betalights) which are calibrated for 100 m when deployed.

The wooden handguard remains cooler in temperature during sustained automatic fire, and also has grooves for bipod storage.

Compared to the original carbine, the MAR has a shortened barrel 210 mm (8.3 in), receiver, piston, gas tube and foregrip.

The MAR has a cyclic rate of fire of around 650–750 RPM (rounds per minute), which is a bit higher than the full sized rifles.

The MAR is equipped with a folding tubular aluminum stock and a flip aperture sight with two settings: 0–300 m and beyond 300 m. The MAR can also be equipped with a night vision device (attached through an adapter mounted to the left side of the receiver), a daytime optical sight (mounted via a receiver cover adapter), low-light sights with tritium illuminated dots, a vertical forward grip with integrated laser pointer, silencer, and a nylon sling.

Upon request, the weapon can be supplied with a bolt catch, plastic magazines weighing 0.164 kg, or an enlarged trigger guard for use with gloves.

The precision rifle is stored in a rugged transport case that comes with an optical sight, mount, filters, two slings (for carrying and firing), and a cleaning kit.

Recent production models feature synthetic plastic furniture and a skeletonized metal stock.

[28] The FFV 890 C is a Swedish assault rifle based on the Galil SAR, which was manufactured by Försvarets Fabriksverk.