2023-10-10 06:32:25
Herzl Halevi, Israel’s Chief of General Staff Image: Getty
Questions about why Israel’s services did not see the terrorist infiltration and murder of hundreds of Israelis coming now also affect Herzl Halevi. Israel’s chief of staff has warned for a long time.
If you sat across from Herzl Halevi during his time as head of Israeli military intelligence, you would hear a quiet, thoughtful soldier speaking. Halevi had studied philosophy and business administration in Jerusalem and at the National Defense University in Washington. He once said that his philosophy studies were of greater importance for military leadership. Halevi weighed his softly delivered words: whether it was about America, Iran, Israel’s Arab neighbors or the “Palestinian arena”. Halevi considered the latter to be the most volatile conflict. This made Halevi’s analysis stand out for years from the behavior of the government in Jerusalem, which under Benjamin Netanyahu turned to other theaters and believed that the Palestinian question was under control. The Hamas leader in Gaza was considered pragmatic.
Jochen Stahnke
Political correspondent for China, Taiwan and North Korea based in Beijing.
Halevi moved closer to the Gaza Strip in 2018 when he was promoted from military intelligence chief to commander of the Southern Command. During his service there was a brief military conflict with the terrorist group Palestinian Islamic Jihad, while Hamas held back. Out of pragmatism, it was believed. In May 2021, Hamas attacked Israel with a then-unprecedented hail of rockets, which Israel ended with its air defense, targeted counterstrikes and contributions in kind. Two months later, Halevi was promoted to deputy army chief and finally appointed commander-in-chief in September of last year under short-term Prime Minister (and Netanyahu opponent) Jair Lapid.
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