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The Israeli cabinet have confirmed the appointment of Major General Gabi Ashkenazi as Israel's new army chief of staff after his predecessor quit over the handling of last summer's war in Lebanon.
“Gaby (Ashkenazi) is a valuable commander who has proven reliable … There is no doubt that he will be able to lead the (Israeli Defence Force), confront the challenges facing the army and ensure the safety of Israel,” Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said at the opening of his weekly cabinet meeting.
Ashkenazi, the 19th chief of staff of the Israeli army, will assume charge of an Israeli army in crisis after a disappointing performance in last summer's 34-day war against the Shiite Hezbollah militia in Lebanon.
The 52-year-old general faces looming military threats on three fronts: the likelihood of renewed hostilities between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas movement in the Gaza strip, against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon and the mounting Iranian nuclear threat.
Ashkenazi's predecessor, Lieutenant General Dan Halutz, resigned from the post on January 17 after being widely criticised for his role in the ill-fated military campaign launched after Hezbollah fighters seized two soldiers along Israel's border with Lebanon.
The July-August conflict failed to achieve either of its stated goals of freeing the men or stopping Hezbollah rocket fire.
These failures generated a public outcry against the country's senior leaders, including Halutz, Olmert and Defence Minister Amir Peretz. Olmert and Peretz continue to fend off calls that they join Halutz in stepping down.
Ashkenazi joined the elite Golani infantry brigade in 1972, rising through the ranks to become its commander in 1986.
In 1976 he took part in a daring commando raid that rescued Jewish passengers taken hostage after an Air France flight was hijacked and flown to Entebbe, Uganda. He was wounded in 1978 in a military operation in Lebanon.
He was named commander of Israel's northern military region in 1998 and deputy chief of staff in 2002. He resigned from that post three years later when Halutz was given the top job, and moved to the defence ministry.
