JERUSALEM: The Israeli cabinet on Sunday confirmed as armed forces chief Major General Yoav Galant, who directed Israel's 2008-2009 Gaza war, the prime minister's office said. "The government approved his appointment as chief of staff for a period of three years, with a possible extension to four years in exceptional circumstances," it said in a statement. "Yoav Galant has proved himself in the course of 33 years of service in the front line of the Israel Defence Forces," the statement quoted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as saying. He is to take over the post from Lieutenant General Gabi Ashkenazi in February after the latter's term expires. The appointment required approval by the cabinet, which held its regular weekly meeting on Sunday. Defence Minister Ehud Barak announced his nomination last month in the wake of a controversy over the circulation of a forged document aimed at discrediting Galant that kicked off the so-called "battle of the generals." The document, which lobbied for Galant's appointment while smearing his rivals and was reportedly prepared by a public relations firm hired by the general, was leaked to a television channel. Ashkenazi has said no member of the general staff was involved and police found that the document was a fake. As head of the southern command, Galant oversaw the devastating December 2008-January 2009 war in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip that cost the lives of 1,400 Palestinians and 13 Israelis. A subsequent investigation by the UN Human Rights Council found that both Israel and Palestinian armed groups committed war crimes and possible crimes against humanity during the 22-day offensive aimed at halting rocket attacks from the territory. Israel slammed the so-called Goldstone report, which it said was biased against the Jewish state. But following Galant's nomination the Israeli human rights group B'Tselem called for a thorough review of his role in the fighting. Other leading candidates for the military's top job were Major General Benny Gantz, Ashkenazi's deputy, and Major General Gadi Eizenkot who heads the army's northern command. "The decision was a hard one," Barak's office quoted him as telling cabinet colleagues before the vote. "All the candidates are worthy, talented, deeply experienced; men of the highest attributes." Ashkenazi, the current chief of staff, was appointed in February 2007 in the wake of Israel's disastrous 2006 war on the Hezbollah militia in southern Lebanon. Galant was born on November 8, 1958 in the mixed Arab-Jewish neighborhood of Jaffa, which now forms part of Tel Aviv. He joined the navy's Flotilla 13 commando unit, rising through the ranks to become its commander from 1994 to 1997. The unit carried out the May 31 raid on an aid ship bound for Gaza in which nine Turkish activists were killed. In 2005, Galant was appointed to head Israel's southern command. He is married with three children and holds a degree in business and financial management.
