Israel Katz blocks reshuffle of military command in new clash with IDF chief
Defense Minister Israel Katz slammed IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir for his plans to reshuffle senior IDF positions, including replacing seven division commanders and appointing new leadership for the Armored and Engineering Corps.
Current protocols require the defense minister's approval for senior IDF posts, such as any position with the rank of brigadier-general.
Sources close to Katz said that Zamir did not consult or coordinate with the defense minister prior to the reorganization, and therefore, the minister has decided that he will not approve the appointments.
In response, the IDF published the names and positions of its new senior appointees.
Katz is trying to establish a precedent similar to the one made by National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir over senior Israel Police appointments, a military source said. 'The current procedure is that the IDF General Staff examines and presents a list of appointments to the minister,' the source continued.
Katz's office released a statement, saying, 'The personnel discussion held today by Zamir was done contrary to the defense minister's directive and without prior coordination and agreement, which goes against the established procedure... The chief of staff will be required to coordinate with the defense minister to discuss these or other appointments in the future.'
Later, the IDF Spokesperson's Unit issued a statement confirming that the listed appointments were conditional on the defense minister's approval. It added that 'this is a personnel discussion at the core of which are field operational positions to which field brigade commanders have been appointed. These commanders have led and commanded since the outbreak of the war on several battlefronts.'
'Zamir is the sole authority in issuing orders to appoint officers of the rank of colonel and above in the IDF,' the military went on to say.
Only after the IDF's chief made these decisions, it continued, is the list then transferred to the minister for approval. Opposition leader MK Yair Lapid criticized Katz on Tuesday, saying, 'In this insane government, even a basic event like appointing officers in the IDF does not pass without leaks, arguments, slander, and late-night statements.'
'This is not how you run a country. This is not how you lead an army,' Lapid wrote.
Some of the senior appointments proposed by Zamir
Brig.-Gen. Barak Hiram, currently commander of the IDF's 99th Division, is slated to become the new head of the IDF Operations Directorate's Operations Division.
The other seven IDF sections set to undergo leadership changes are the 98th, 36th, 210th, 99th, 146th, 143rd, and 252nd Divisions.
Beyond these, the reshuffling and promotions also pertain to appointing new IDF Armored Corps and Engineering Corps commanders, as well as filling other senior positions with new heads across the military.
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