Maj. Gen. Amnon Shahak has been chosen to serve as the next chief of staff of the Israel Defense Force.
At its weekly session on Sunday, the Cabinet unanimously approved Shahak’s nomination by Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, who also serves as defense minister.
Shahak, currently deputy chief of staff, will replace Lt. Gen. Ehud Barak when Barak’s four-year term expires in January.
Shahak, who will serve as the country’s 15th IDF chief of staff, was Israel’s top negotiator in the seven months of talks with the Palestine Liberation Organization that led to the implementation of Palestinian self-rule in the Gaza Strip and Jericho enclave in the West Bank that began in May.
During his army career, Shahak has held a number of key IDF posts, including commander of the West Bank from 1983 to 1986 and chief of military intelligence from 1986 until his appointment as deputy IDF chief of staff in 1991.
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