Ashkenazi, currently the director-general of the Defense Ministry, will replace Lt.-Gen. Dan Halutz, who resigned last week in the wake of an internal army probe that is likely to hold him responsible for much of the mismanagement of last summer’s Lebanon War.
The defense minister will submit Ashkenazi’s candidacy to the government’s Advisory Committee on Senior Appointments, chaired by retired Supreme Court Justice Yaacov Terkel. If approved there, it will go to the cabinet, which is expected to approve the appointment early next week.
Olmert spoke with rejected candidate Maj.-Gen. Moshe Kaplinsky earlier in the day, asking him to stay on as IDF deputy chief of staff, but it was unclear whether he will agree to do so. Kaplinsky sent a letter to Olmert on Sunday withdrawing his candidacy for the top spot, saying he wanted to end the “media circus” surrounding the issue.
Knesset Member Tzachi HaNegbi, Chairman of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, expressed his opposition to the appointment, maintaining that it is too soon to decide on Halutz’s successor.
HaNegbi said the appointment should be delayed until the completion and release of the Winograd Commission's report, expected in early February. The government-appointed commission is conducting an investigation into the mismanagement of the war with Hizbullah terrorists.
The Movement for Quality Government petitioned the High Court to order a delay until the findings of the Winograd Commission are released, saying it was inappropriate for the prime minister and defense minister to make an appointment when they themselves might be found culpable in the mismanagement of the war. Moreover, argued the organization, any new appointee might also be held partly responsible for the army’s performance during the war.
In response, the High Court ordered Olmert and Peretz to justify within four days their decision to go ahead with the appointment before the release of the report.
The defense minister will submit Ashkenazi’s candidacy to the government’s Advisory Committee on Senior Appointments, chaired by retired Supreme Court Justice Yaacov Terkel. If approved there, it will go to the cabinet, which is expected to approve the appointment early next week.
Olmert spoke with rejected candidate Maj.-Gen. Moshe Kaplinsky earlier in the day, asking him to stay on as IDF deputy chief of staff, but it was unclear whether he will agree to do so. Kaplinsky sent a letter to Olmert on Sunday withdrawing his candidacy for the top spot, saying he wanted to end the “media circus” surrounding the issue.
Knesset Member Tzachi HaNegbi, Chairman of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, expressed his opposition to the appointment, maintaining that it is too soon to decide on Halutz’s successor.
HaNegbi said the appointment should be delayed until the completion and release of the Winograd Commission's report, expected in early February. The government-appointed commission is conducting an investigation into the mismanagement of the war with Hizbullah terrorists.
The Movement for Quality Government petitioned the High Court to order a delay until the findings of the Winograd Commission are released, saying it was inappropriate for the prime minister and defense minister to make an appointment when they themselves might be found culpable in the mismanagement of the war. Moreover, argued the organization, any new appointee might also be held partly responsible for the army’s performance during the war.
In response, the High Court ordered Olmert and Peretz to justify within four days their decision to go ahead with the appointment before the release of the report.