BICOM

What happened: Defence Minister Benny Gantz announced yesterday that he selected Maj.-Gen. Herzl (Herzi) Halevi as his candidate to be the next IDF Chief of Staff.

• Gantz said: “He is the most suitable officer in terms of the rich operational experience he has in a variety of areas, as well as in terms of his command abilities and his approach to various military issues, which he has demonstrated throughout his years of service.”
• Prime Minister Yair Lapid, called his appointment “a worthy and natural choice.” He added: “Herzi is an outstanding and talented officer with considerable experience. I am certain that he will lead the IDF to many significant achievements. This was a choice between two good and worthy candidates. I wish Maj.-Gen. Eyal Zamir success in the future. I have no doubt that he will continue to contribute his experience and talents to the security of the State of Israel.”
• Halevi, who currently serves as the Deputy Chief of Staff, has held a range of senior commands including, head of Southern Command and head of the Military Intelligence.
• Born in Jerusalem in 1967, he began his military service in 1985 in the infantry, first serving as an officer in the Paratroopers Brigade. He later joined the elite Sayeret Matkal, special forces unit where he served as the company commander.

Context: The position of chief of staff is a three-year appointment, with the convention of extending it for a further year.

• There is also a convention that senior appointments are not made by a temporary government in the lead up to an election, an argument pushed by Leader of the Opposition Benjamin Netanyahu. Defence Minister Gantz (himself a former chief of staff) claimed that in the context of the political instability delaying the appointment would be a security risk. In July Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara concurred.
• The incoming chief of staff is expected to maintain the current five-year “Momentum Plan” which was launched by current IDF head Aviv Kochavi in February 2020. The plan focuses on the modernisation of the IDF under a “multi-dimensional” framework.
• The  plan is based on the fighting concept that looks to enhance interoperability of all forces – ground, air, naval, intelligence, and cyber. A similar approach to military modernisation is shared by UK and US militaries.
• The IDF faces a range of complex security challenges from the region: Iran’s nuclear programme, conventional military threat from Hezbollah and Iranian entrenchment in Syria, encapsulated in the “campaign between the wars”. There are also local threats in the Palestinian sector, both from Gaza and the West Bank including from Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, ISIS and lone-wolf terrorists.

Attacks over the weekend: On Sunday there was a shooting attack against a bus of newly recruited IDF soldiers in the Jordan Valley.

• Six soldiers and the bus driver were injured when a pickup truck with an Israeli license plate overtook and opened fire on the bus. Two of the assailants were caught, whilst a search is ongoing for a third attacker.
• On Sunday night, in north of Ramallah, another four IDF soldiers were injured by an improvised explosive device that was thrown at them.
• On Friday an IDF soldier was stabbed whist on duty outside Hebron.
• This morning there was an exchange of fire in the Jenin area between the Israeli security forces and armed Palestinian men. An armed 19-year-old Palestinian man was killed by IDF gunfire.
• Yesterday’s shooting attack in Jordan Valley was the first in over a decade, revealing a growing trend of shooting attacks against IDF soldiers in the West Bank. According to the Shin Bet Security Service there have already been more than 220 planned shooting attacks so far this year – almost double the number from last year.

Looking ahead: Maj. Gen. Halevi’s appointment needs to be confirmed by an appointments committee and then the Cabinet. He is expected to formally replace Aviv Kochavi early next year and become the IDF’s 23^rd Chief of Staff.