Chief of Staff Dan Halutz has decided to reassign Brig. Gen. Guy Tsur who served as commander of the 162nd division during the Second Lebanon War.

Halutz had previously appointed Tsur to head the IDF central training base at Se'elim, but Defense Minister Amir Peretz froze the appointments of four division commanders who had fought in the war ? including that of Tsur - until investigations into the conduct of the war had been completed. Halutz has now appointed Tsur to head up the Strategic division of the General Staff's planning branch.

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Tsur was recommended for the position in place of Brig. Gen. Gal Hirsh. Hirsh resigned from the IDF in protest at the conclusions of Gen. (res) Doron Almog's committee, which held that greater steps should have been taken in light of repeated warnings that Hezbollah was planning to kidnap soldiers in the area.

The appointment of Tsur - like the appointment of other division commanders who had fought in Lebanon - has attracted strong criticism from a number of quarters. The Inquiry headed by Gen. (res) Moshe Ivri-Suknik found many faults with the actions of the 162nd division in the central front during the Lebanon War. Halutz has yet to decide who will now head the Se'elim training base.

The option of appointing a reserve officer to the position is thought to be under consideration - this would reflect the fact that Se'elim is the training center for most of the IDF's reserves. Another possibility is the appointment of Yoav Har-Even, currently the commander of a reserve division in the Northern Command.