Iran, Hezbollah major threats for new Israeli occupation army chief

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The new Israeli occupation Chief of Staff, Herzi Halevi, faces many complex challenges, most notably Iran and its nuclear file, Hezbollah, in addition to the escalation in the occupied West Bank.

Halevi, who will officially assume his duties today, Monday, will be up against an already boiling West Bank that necessitates difficult decisions while not losing focus on the entity's main threats: Iran and Hezbollah.

According to the Israeli newspaper Maariv, "Halevi's mandate begins as the security escalation continues in the West Bank, which requires the army to spend greater resources and allocate many units from the active and reserve forces. All this comes as the two major threats [Israel is facing] are Iran and Hezbollah from the north."

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The site added that Halevi would aspire as much as possible (on the issue of the West Bank) to influence the required balances in activating the military force, within the framework of maintaining relations with the Palestinian security services in days when it is almost certain that relations between "Israel" and the Palestinian Authority will be heading for the worse.

The Israeli army finds itself at the heart of the political debate, the report noted, while Halevi will have to make a lot of efforts to try to keep it away from the stir.

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The new army chief realizes that he will not have even one day of grace, and in light of the intense political debate, any decision he takes starting from his first day will be scrutinized by the two large divided camps in "Israel", the news site added.

The newspaper pointed out that Halevi, like his predecessor Kochavi, also looks critically at the changes sought by the political ruling party.

Among the changes are the responsibilities and authority granted to the "civil administration" and the "border guard" duties in the West Bank, and the appointment of senior officers such as the chief military rabbi and coordinator of the Israeli government's activities in the occupied Palestinian territories.

The report noted that among the challenges facing Halevi is the reserve unit, which suffers from large gaps and concerns regardings its eligibility and readiness for the next war.

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"Today, more than ever before, political and social rifts can have devastating consequences that are more important than everything else going on in the army," Maariv added. 

For his part, Zeevi Farkash, a former reserve major in the Israeli occupation army, said on Sunday that "the Israeli division reinforces Iran's conviction that Israel cannot implement a strategic plan against it."

"Israel's first problem is the Iranian threat, and the second is the volatile Palestinian arena," he added.

"All of this, together with Hezbollah, are matters that should not be ignored and must be dealt with accurately, especially with Hezbollah."