Blanket scorn for Mofaz decision to halt Ya’alon term

Senior IDF Staff officers said Wednesday that someone must have lost his sense of national responsiblity when reaching the decision to replace both IDF Chief of Staff Moshe Ya’alon and Shin Bet security service director Avi Dichter prior to the implementation of the disengagement plan. The officers, speaking anonymously, joined a broad chorus of critics on both wings of the Israeli political spectrum in condemning Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz for his decision against granting Ya’alon an expected one-year extension to his three-year term, which expires days before the scheduled initial implementation of the disengagement in July. Members of the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee demanded Wednesday that Chairman Yuval Steinitz assemble a special meeting to discuss the decision to halt Ya’alon’s term. Rightists said the decision, generally credited to Mofaz but approved by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, was prompted by political considerations. MK Zvi Hendel of the far-right National Union said Mofaz had taken the step because Ya’alon had expressed his opposition to the disengagement plan in the past. Hendel said Sharon was directing „a dictatorial regime in which anyone who doesn’t stay in the insane rut of the disengagement is canned.” Leftists said the decision itself could put the withdrawal plan at risk. Labor MK Ephraim Sneh said the decision to replace Ya’alon on the eve of the evacuation of Gaza could jeopardize the success of the disengagement operation. Yahad MK Yossi Sarid said Ya’alon had been a more decent chief of staff than his predecessor Mofaz, adding that the timing of the decision was odd, and raised suspicion and fear. A lone dissenting voice was that of Yahad leader Yossi Beilin, who voice a measure of support for the decision. „This was a very legitimate decision. All this effort to see this as having fired Mofaz is very, very imprecise. „I am also not a party to all this crying over the end of the term. The end of his tenure is no tragedy.” The decision was announced late Tuesday by the Defense Ministry announcement, which said that it was based on a matter of principle. Ya’alon’s successor, still unnamed, would also serve three years, the ministry said. Shock waves in the General Staff It has been almost routine for chiefs of staff to have their terms extended for six months to a year. Ya’alon asked for an extension of a year and when he was told that the defense minister and prime minister were only prepared to extend his term to January 1, 2006, he took an all or nothing approach and said he would decline anything less than a one-year extension. The decision is seen as certain to send shockwaves through the IDF General Staff. There are two principal candidates to replace Ya’alon – Deputy Chief of Staff Dan Halutz and his predecessor Gabi Ashkenazi. Halutz, former commander of the air force, is thought to have slightly better chances, mostly because Sharon supports him. If he gets the appointment, he would be the first Israel Air Force commander to move into the chief of staff’s slot. But a surprise third choice has not been ruled out. PM was never happy with Ya’alon Defense sources said Tuesday that the announcement of Ya’alon’s replacement is likely to made within a month and will be followed by a round of general staff appointments that will include key roles such as head of Military Intelligence, head of the Northern Command and commander of the ground forces. The next chief of staff will have input on all the new appointments. The announcement Tuesday night will no doubt generate tension between the outgoing chief of staff and the political echelon. Sharon has never been very happy with Ya’alon’s performance, and there was often friction between them, particularly regarding what Sharon perceived as independent positions Ya’alon took on various issues during the last three years. For example, in the summer of 2003, Ya’alon appeared to criticize Mofaz and Sharon for not being generous enough toward the Palestinians during the short-lived 50-day hudna cease-fire. Later, Sharon thought that Ya’alon was not displaying enough support for the disengagement plan. And while Ya’alon had been Mofaz’s candidate to replace him as chief of staff, when Mofaz became defense minister, their relationship was often strained. BPI-info