Defense Minister Benny Gantz met this weekend with former Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot, with Defense Minister and former Chief of Staff Ehud Barak and with former Defense Minister Amir Peretz, as part of a round of consultations for the appointment of the 23rd Chief of Staff of the IDF.
After receiving the legal approval to appoint a Chief of Staff from the Legal Advisor to the Government, Gali Beharev Meara, even before the Knesset elections on November 1, Gantz intends to announce the identity of the chosen candidate within a few weeks. If there are no last-minute dramas, it appears that it will be the Deputy Chief of Staff.” To the incumbent Major General Herzi Halevi, against whom former Deputy Chief of Staff Major General Eyal Zamir is competing for the position.
The round of consultations with the former senior officials is part of an orderly procedure in the process of appointing the Chief of Staff. However, it seems that in this round – more than other times – Gantz wants to show that he is operating within the same “state” spirit that he is trying to instill, and that he made as wide a round as possible during This time period of a transitional government Gantz also wanted to consult on the issue with former Prime Minister and opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu, but was met with a cold shoulder from him.
Netanyahu, on the other hand, last week called on Gantz to extend the term of the current Chief of Staff Aviv Kochavi, adding: “Do not appoint a Chief of Staff during an election period. It is imperative that this appointment be made in a state way and away from any political context.”
Netanyahu justified his call by saying that “the appointment of the Chief of Staff is one of the sensitive and important appointments for Israel’s security. The appointment of senior officials should be determined by a permanent government, and not by a transitional government in the midst of elections. This is how Israeli governments behaved in the past, including the governments headed by me, and this is how we should behave today as well.”
Netanyahu noted that Kochavi will end his term on January 15, 2023, two and a half months after the Knesset elections. “If it is necessary, the government can also extend his position by a few weeks, as was done in the past with similar appointments of the head of the Shin Bet and the head of the Mossad,” he added. There were those who said that Major General Zamir is Netanyahu’s preferred candidate and therefore he is acting in this spirit.
On the other hand, the opposition claimed that Gantz’s hands are not “clean” when he clings to the pretext of appointing the Chief of Staff, and that his considerations are political. He himself rejected Netanyahu’s words and said: “I am sorry that Netanyahu chooses to drag the issue into the political context in a way that may harm the security of Israel and Israel “To”.
The Defense Minister also stated that he invited Netanyahu to “voice his position and contribute to the process”, and added: “Even if he chooses not to come, I will continue to move forward in the comprehensive and in-depth process, and appoint a Chief of Staff in the coming weeks.”
One of the biggest obstacles to the appointment of a new Chief of Staff was removed when Prime Minister Yair Lapid decided to appoint former Chief Justice Manny Mazuz to the position of head of the committee for appointing senior officials in the public sector. Mazuz also previously served as Attorney General.
Along with the consultation process and on Netanyahu’s side, there are those who are also criticizing: Major General (Ret.) Uzi Dayan, former Deputy Chief of Staff and Chairman of the National Security Staff, said that the manner in which Defense Minister Gantz is requesting to appoint a Chief of Staff – during the term of the transitional government and in consultation with ministers A former security guard from the left – is a hijacker who contaminates the process and endangers the required cohesion in the relations between the political and military levels.
According to Dayan, “There have always been clear rules in this matter in order to maintain the position of the Chief of Staff and the IDF, and Gantz’s conduct in this matter is irresponsible. The appointment of the Chief of Staff must and can be carried out by the new government that will be elected in about 4 months “.