The race for Chiefs of Staff: Lapid will meet with the final candidates today

General Herzi Halevi, who is considered Gantz's preferred candidate, and General Eyal Zamir will hold talks with the Prime Minister.

This is in preparation for the Defense Minister's upcoming decision, which is expected to be met with a Likud petition.

Netanyahu, who prefers Zamir, demands to wait with the decision until after the elections

Amir Bohbot and Barak Ravid

03/08/2022

Wednesday, 03 August 2022, 05:45

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On video: Gantz refers to the appointment of the next chief of staff (video: streaming)

Prime Minister Yair Lapid will today (Wednesday) interview the final candidates for the position of the next Chief of Staff - General Herzi Halevy and General Eyal Zamir. According to estimates, Defense Minister Benny Gantz will announce Halevy as the 23rd Chief of Staff in the coming days, with the opposition of Yu Opposition Leader Binyamin Netanyahu to make the decision during an election period. Netanyahu's preferred candidate is General Zamir.

The two candidates were at the center of another conflict between Netanyahu and Gantz in 2012, when they were Prime Minister and Chief of Staff respectively, over the appointment of the Prime Minister's military secretary.

In the end, Zamir was appointed to the position, while Gantz marked Halevi as a prominent candidate for the position of Chief of Staff in the future.

Sources involved in the selection process said this week that while Netanyahu is busy influencing the identity of the Chief of Staff so that he will be committed to him, Gantz has both options open. In recent days, Gantz's office announced that he has ended the round of consultations with the former defense ministers after meeting former senior IDF officials, and therefore The decision on the identity of the next Chief of Staff is a matter of days.

However, in Gantz's circle, preparations are being made for Likud members to appeal to the High Court at the last minute against Gantz's decision.

This is despite the fact that the legal adviser to the government Gali Beharve-Miara stated that there is no problem in the appointment of the Chief of Staff at this time, even though it is a transitional government during an election period.

will interview the candidates.

Lapid (Photo: Government Press Office, Haim Tzach)

Halevi was defined as the leading candidate in Gantz's eyes, especially after the announcement that champion Yoel Strick was leaving the race.

He is defined as part of the "fraternity of paratroopers".

He began his military service in the Paratrooper Battalion, and since then held a series of positions in the Paratrooper Brigade: MP in the 101 Battalion and Commander of the Anti-Aircraft Company in the Paratrooper Patrol Battalion. His composure and courage, along with his operational experience in southern Lebanon in the security zone, caught the eyes of Doron Avital, commander of the General Staff patrol at the time.

Avital initially integrated him as a training officer, and then led complex operations deep in enemy territory as a "commander".

Later, Halevy was integrated into the special operations (MM) system of AMAN in units whose operations are not made public except after malfunctions. As far as Halevy and his commanders are concerned, He fulfilled the duties by the book and advanced unusually, as an officer who grew up outside the unit, to the position of deputy commander of a General Staff patrol.

Over the years, he participated in operations far from the country's borders, including the kidnapping of Mustafa Dirani,

More in Walla!

Just before a decision: what do we know about the "combatant" who designated Gantz for the position of Chief of Staff?

To the full article

Gantz's leading candidate.

Hertzi Halevi (Photo: Reuven Castro)

At the beginning of the second intifada, when the IDF was deeply immersed in fighting in the territories of Judea and Samaria, then Chief of Staff Shaul Mofaz appointed him commander of a patrol of the IDF, promoted him to the rank of lieutenant colonel, and tasked him with complex operations in the heart of Palestinian terror nests.

Later, the Chief of Staff at the time Moshe Ya'alon gave him the rank of lieutenant colonel and sent him to study and rest from combat in the United States. In 2005 he returned to Israel and was appointed commander of the Menasha Brigade that operated in terrorist strongholds in the refugee camp in Jenin. to the territories of Judea and Samaria in exchange for the release of the captive soldier Gilad Shalit.

In 2007 he was appointed to the paratrooper brigade and a year later he led the Red Brigade in the "Cast Lead" operation in the northern Gaza Strip.

In 2009, he was appointed head of the operation division, and as someone who knew the IDF patrol well and the MMM formation, he had a significant contribution in synchronizing the units and the IDF effort.

In 2011 he was appointed commander of Uzbat HaGalil, and three years later he was appointed commander of the FOM despite Netanyahu's demands. In 2014, after the "Tzuk Eitan" operation, he was appointed head of the AMN.

In 2018 he was appointed commander of the Southern Command and about a year ago he was appointed to the position of Deputy Chief of Staff.

General Halevi is not an extroverted figure in the General Staff. He is considered a quiet, opinionated figure, who knows his stand, and he sometimes dips his moves with cynicism but also with wit. It is because if he is appointed to the position of Chief of Staff, he will continue in the line of outgoing Chief of Staff Aviv Kochavi, who supports the use of high-tech and multi-armed means in a way that supports more airstrikes and less land maneuvering.

The beloved officer from Eilat

Zamir was born and raised in Eilat, like former Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot, but his busy life spanned through the Armored Corps and was less flashy as a tank commander and armor officer. He was an MP in the 500th Brigade and the 460th Brigade. In the early 1990s, he was the AGM officer of The famous 7th Brigade, and was later appointed as the 75th Major General in the brigade.

After commanding the Armory School, he went to study in France, and when he returned he was appointed the General Officer Commanding of the Steel Design and as Brigadier General 656 in the reserves.

He led it in the "Defensive Wall" operation in the dense and complex Jenin sector.

At the beginning of the Second Intifada he commanded the Tactical Training Center in Tzalim, and in 2003 he came full circle and commanded the 7th Brigade. After the Second Lebanon War, he commanded Division 143, the Battalion Commanders Course, and after Operation "Cast Lead" he was appointed commander of Division 36. After about three years, he Appointed chief of staff of the land arm and advanced to the position of Netanyahu's military secretary.

Upon completion, he was appointed commander of the Southern Command.

Netanyahu's favorite candidate.

Zamir (Photo: Reuven Castro)

In the winter of 2018, Zamir was appointed Deputy Chief of Staff and towards the end of his term he led the treatment of Corona and the synchronization with all civil bodies. After completing his position, he flew to study in the United States. General Zamir is known as a very popular officer in the General Staff, systematic and orderly, specializing in leading processes, order and organization, And according to estimates, his chances of getting the position are very low.

If he does get the position of Chief of Staff, sources at the top of the IDF estimate that he will place an emphasis on land maneuvering, which has lost its value in recent years, and return to the roots of training methods and the sharpness required of the ground forces in the combination of advanced technology. About a decade ago, he led the assimilation of the digital land army systems that the IDF is proud of today.

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• Chief of Staff

• the chief of staff

• Hertzi Halevi

• Eyal Zamir

• Yair Lapid

• Benny Gantz