Who is Eyal Zamir, the new head of the Israeli army? | Israel-Palestine News of Conflict

The arrival head of the Israeli army headquarters is a retired Major General Eyal Zamir, former Director General of the Ministry of Defense, whose term begins on Wednesday.

Zamir takes over from Lieutenant Herzi Halevija, who announced his resignation In January in anticipation of last week’s a report on military catastrophic Failures during the attack guided by Hamas on October 20, 2023.

The government, led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, refused to allow an investigation into his failures that day.

Defense Minister Israel Katz, along with Netanyahu, chose Zamir for his role last month. It will command all Israeli military operations, including its deployment in Gaza, Syria and Lebanon.

What do we know about Zamir’s record?

Quite.

Zamir was considered to be the role of head of the headquarters twice, but both times they conveyed in favor of the departure Halevi and his predecessor, Aviva Kohavi.

Originally recruited into the military in 1984, Zamir progressed through the ranks from tanks officers to the commander of the 7th Armored Brigade 2003 and 36.

Critically for his future success, he was Netanyahu’s military secretary from 2012 to 2015, and then the leader of the Israeli southern Command for the next three years.

In her last year in the Southern Command, Zamir’s troops “clashed” Palestinian protesters from Gaza participated in A large return march; They killed more than 150 protesters and wounded 10,000 others, including 1,849 children, 424 women, 115 paramedic and 115 journalists.

In November 2018 Netanyahu promoted him to the deputy chief of the staff.

At the beginning of the protest, after the killing of 16 Palestinians during one day in May, Zamir defended his actions, saying that his forces “identified attempts to perform terrorist attacks under the camouflage of clutter.”

In 2021, he left the army and Israel, going to the United States, where he was a visiting scientific associate at the Washington Institute for the Middle Eastern Research Center, returning to Israel in 2023, when he was appointed General Director of the Ministry of Defense.

What do we know about his views?

He seems to like the war.

In the first speech after his appointment on March 1, Zamir said that in 2025 he would still be a year of struggle, “despite Israel, he agreed to interrupt in the two wars he was running – on Gaza and Lebanon.

He said that Israel must be self-sufficient, without mentioning the huge amounts of military assistance he receives from the US.

“We were all raised on the principle:” The State of Israel will defend itself. “Now I tell you that Israel will also make his own weapon independently, despite any threat or scenario,” Zamir said.

There is a strict opinion on the need to deal with Iran and other “opponents of Israel”.

2007 allegedly wrote In defense of the “collective penalty” practice against what is described as a “terrorist population”.

Collective The penalty is illegal according to international law.

What did others say?

Not surprisingly, Zamir’s appointment was greeted by some of the stubborn members of the Netanyahu cabinet.

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich told members of his block earlier this month that, under the guidance of Zamir, Israel was preparing to occupy Gaza in coordination with US President Donald Trump.

Netanyahu praised his appointment, saying, “Even when he served as my military secretary, I was impressed with the dedication of Eyal Zamir to the earth,” his commitment to the army, as well as “the fact that his approach was focused on insulting.”

“We expect that during his service … we will come to all these great achievements, which will change not only Israel, but also the face of the whole Middle East,” said Netanyahu, who agreed to interruption and withdrawal in Gaza and Lebanon.

Will Zamir’s appointment affect the future of Israel?

It can very well.

Several senior members of the military and security appliances resigned, while others delay their promotions for the failure of the attack on October 7, creating a vacuum of leadership at the top of the security forces, which Zamir and, expanding Netanyahu, to be able to shape their goals.

In the long run, the position of the army chief has also often led to further political careers.

Some former premieres, including Yitzhak Rabin, Ariel Sharon and Ehud Barak, were staff chiefs.

In addition, former Defense Ministers, including Shaul Mofaz, Benny Gantz and Gadi Eisenkot, have been held on the spot.