IDF chief: I will step down in six months, as planned

Incoming Israel Defense Forces chief Yoav Galant will assume his duties at the scheduled date in six months, IDF Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi said Sunday, refuting earlier reports that he had considered an early retirement as a result of his murky relationship with Defense Minister Ehud Barak.

	Ehud Barak, right, and Gabi Ashkenazi earlier this year.
	Photo by: Alex Kolomoisky

Ashkenazi's comment came as the cabinet voted Sunday on the appointment of Ashkenazi's successor, Maj. Gen. Yoav Galant, who is supposed to start his term in February 2011.

However, given the tension between Ashkenazi and Barak, which peaked after Barak's remarks to the General Staff forum about "officers who tried illegitimately to stop Galant's appointment," reports have been received alleging Ashkenazi may consider retiring before that date.

Speaking before high-school students in Or Yehuda prior to the cabinet meeting, Ashkenazi said the government was expected to vote in Galant as the next IDF chief, congratulating him of his appointment.

"Both the members of the IDF general staff and myself will be there to aid him as he enters office on schedule in six months," the incumbent IDF chief said, thus refuting rumors of his early exit.

Earlier Sunday, Barak told Army Radio that he would continue to work with Ashkenazi, saying he was "an excellent IDF chief of staff that is capable of cooperation."

Some of Ashkenazi's associates said earlier Sunday that he should retire after the fall holidays because of the poor relations with Barak. Others say he will be playing into Barak's hands if he does not finish his term.

Members of the general staff said Barak's attack last Thursday came out of nowhere. Barak read the statement from a note he had prepared and left immediately after the New Year's toast.

Barak's bureau rejected allegations that he was trying to shorten Ashkenazi's term. Officials close to the minister said his decision to appoint a committee to examine the so-called "Galant document" stemmed from the need to examine matters of values that the police had not addressed.

Barak's accusation that "senior officers in the career army and the reserves" had been involved in a plot to stop Galant's appointment sounded like an attack on Ashkenazi. Ashkenazi's office had a copy of the document, which purportedly outlined a PR campaign to help Galant become the next Israel Defense Forces chief of staff, before it was leaked to Channel 2.

Barak's bureau yesterday released other portions of his statement to show he had also complimented the General Staff and Ashkenazi. He said the General Staff was an "excellent group, motivated by a sense of mission and responsibility."