Eizenkot takes on position of deputy IDF chief

Maj. Gen. Gadi Eizenkot was sworn in as the Israel Defense Forces’ deputy chief of general staff in a special ceremony on Monday. Eizenkot replaces Maj. Gen. Yair Naveh, who held the position for two years. In attendance were Defense Minister Ehud Barak, Chief of General Staff Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz, and other senior military officers.

"I am well aware of the responsibility with which I'm trusted, and I anticipate returning and contributing further under the command of the chief of general staff," Eizenkot said at the ceremony.

Referring to the ongoing Harpaz affair, Barak said, "We are here after a road filled with its share of potholes, and it's all behind us."

Barak also said: "The deputy chief of general staff is an extremely demanding position. The IDF has improved immensely. We have overcome budget difficulties and balanced between the immediate necessities and the long term ones. The chief of general staff, who leads the IDF, has to know he can rely on his deputy. I wish you great success."

Several other key IDF appointments were announced Monday. An unidentified colonel who graduated from the Israel National Defense College will be promoted to the rank of brigadier-general and will command Unit 8200, the IDF's elite intelligence gathering unit. Etzion Brigade commander Col. Yaniv Alalouf will be promoted to head of the Planning Directorate. Col. Itzik Bar, the deputy commander of the 162nd Armored Division (also known as the "Steel Formation"), will be the Homefront Command's next head of operations. Col. Roei Be'eri, who commanded the Arava Regional Brigade, will be appointed to head the Homefront Command's Southern District, while Col. Munir Amar, also a graduate of the defense college, will command the Haifa District.

All appointments are contingent on approval by the defense minister.