Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urges the leadership of the security apparatus to appoint officers in the Israeli army who belong to the extreme right-wing religious Zionism movement and are close to settler leaders in the West Bank.

Officers will be appointed to the highest military positions during the next two months, with officers expected to resign on the grounds that they bear responsibility for the security failure that led to the massive and sudden “Al-Aqsa Flood” attack launched by Hamas in southern Israel, on October 7 last year.

The head of the Military Intelligence Division (“Aman”), Aharon Haliva, announced his resignation immediately after appointing a successor to the position, against the backdrop of Aman’s failure to anticipate a Hamas attack and monitor its preparations for this attack.

Channel 12 reported today, Monday, that Netanyahu is urging the leadership of the security apparatus to appoint General Eliezer Tolidano as head of AMAN. The channel pointed out that Netanyahu’s position in this regard raises astonishment in the Israeli army, because Toledano is known to be one of those who promoted the belief in Israel that “Hamas is a deterrent and concerned with improving the economic situation in the Gaza Strip,” as the former commander of the Southern Command in the army, and before that as the commander of a division. Gaza Military and as Netanyahu's military secretary.

Netanyahu also hinted that he wants to appoint the commander of the General Staff Corps, General David Zinni, or the officer with the rank of brigadier general, Ofer Winter, as commander of the Central Command of the Israeli army, responsible for the West Bank, to succeed General Yehuda Fuchs, according to the channel.

Fox announced his intention to resign from his position next August. According to the channel, Zinni and Venter are “two officers who are considered more loyal than other officers to the leadership of the settler population.” Winter became famous after his extremist religious speech to his soldiers before the attack on Gaza, in the year 2014, in which he said, addressing God, “We are going to fight for your people Israel against an enemy that hates your name.”

There are three candidates to assume the position of Chief of Staff of the Israeli Defense Forces after the resignation of the current Chief of Staff, Herzi Halevy, according to the Ynet website. These candidates are the Commander of the Northern Command, General Uwe Gordin, and the current Director General of the Ministry of Defense, Reserve General Eyal Zamir, who in the past served as Netanyahu's military advisor. The third candidate is the current Deputy Chief of Staff of the Army, General Amir Baram, and in the past he commanded the northern region.

Zamir is considered the most likely to assume the position of Chief of Staff of the Israeli Army. Ynet pointed out that the last time he was appointed Director General of the Ministry of Security and Chief of Staff of the Army was Gabi Ashkenazi, following the resignation of his predecessor, Dan Halutz, at the end of the Second Lebanon War and as a result of a security failure.

Source: Arabs 48