Special to WorldTribune.com

JERUSALEM — Israel, preparing for an imminent regional war, has
decided to extend the term of its military chief.

The government has recommended the extension of the term of Israeli
Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz. Under the proposal, Gantz would serve
an extra year and head the military through 2014.

“Over the past three years, Chief of Staff Gantz has led the Israel Defense Forces, with impressive success, in the face of some of the most complex security challenges that the state of Israel has faced,” Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said.

Officials said the extension, announced on Sept. 12, would give Gantz a four-year tenure as the head of Israel’s military. Most chiefs of staff were given a two-year term with a one-year extension.

The extension came as a result of a recommendation by Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon, himself a former chief of staff denied an extension past two years. Ya’alon said Gantz has led classified military programs that maintained Israel’s deterrence amid the turbulence in the Levant.

“Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz has led the IDF over the past
two-and-a-half years and has led it to successes, most of which I cannot
detail, but which have allowed Israel’s citizens to continue with their
daily routines and the state of Israel to continue to flourish and prosper,”
Ya’alon said.

Officials said the recommendation would be submitted to the Cabinet on
Sept. 17. They said the government was expected to approve the extension for
Gantz, also directed to cut nearly $3 billion in the military budget by
2017.

“I am certain that also in his fourth year in office, he will continue
to lead the IDF as a strong, advanced, powerful and deterring military that
allows us as decision-makers to lead the state of Israel with responsibility
and sagacity toward security and success in all areas of life,” Ya’alon
said.

  Benjamin Netanyahu, citing ‘impressive success’, Israel extends term of military chief to maintain deterrence as war clouds loom, Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz, Moshe Ya’alon