Galant, who is the outgoing head of the military's Southern Command, stands accused of illegally seizing public land to add to his sprawling estate in northern Israel.

Galant, a hard-charging general who led the 22-day Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip in the winter of 2008-09 in which some 1,300 Palestinians were killed, claims he's the victim of a witch hunt triggered by the unseemly battle within the military hierarchy over who'll be the next chief of staff.

However the investigation into the alleged land grab comes out, Israel's military will have suffered scandals over the last few months that have seriously tarnished its image as the guardian of the nation and exposed deep divisions within the military hierarchy.

All this has taken place amid an unprecedented shuffle of the top echelons of the military and intelligence services in which virtually every senior officer is being replaced.

This is taking place amid growing internal tensions within the military leadership, in part because of the changing nature of the threats facing Israel.

Galant, a 33-year army veteran, is close to Defense Minister Ehud Barak, a former chief of staff himself, who appointed him to replace the outgoing chief, Lt. Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi, due to step down Feb. 14.

There are suggestions Barak selected Galant because he's a hard-liner who favors military action against Iran's nuclear program, like Barak and Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, who endorsed Galant's appointment.

Ashkenazi opposes pre-emptive strikes against Iran because they are likely to trigger a wider Middle East war. He has clashed frequently with Barak during his three-year tenure that followed the disastrous 2006 war with Hezbollah.

Military commentator Yaakov Katz wrote in The Jerusalem Post Saturday that "the past few months have been poisonous for the upper echelons of the Israeli military.

"Instead of the festivities that normally accompany the end of one chief of the General Staff's term and the appointment of his successor, the atmosphere has been bitter and ugly."

Galant's promotion to Israel's top soldier was marred by the scandal that the Israeli media dubbed "Galantgate." That involved a forged letter that sought to discredit Galant by claiming he had tried to smear his rivals to become Israel's 20th chief of staff.

An Ashkenazi associate, Reserve Lt. Col. Boaz Harpaz, has admitted producing the letter. He's been charged with forgery but there has been no suggestion Ashkenazi himself was involved.

Harpaz claims he worked alone but there has been speculation he was aided by senior officers to ensure that Galant was not made chief of staff. Police cleared Galant of any involvement.

Barak, favoring Galant, had refused to extend Ashkenazi's term by a year, as was customary, and named his successor six months ahead of time, a move seen as meant to discredit Ashkenazi and prevent him promoting associates before stepping down.

"If the reports are true," veteran commentator Aluf Benn wrote in the liberal Haaretz Daily at the time, "this was a coup by a military faction against the elected civilian leadership.

"Barak acted within his authority in choosing an army chief of staff. Certain individuals who disagreed with his intentions sought to bring him down by forging a document and leaking it to the press on the eve of the appointment."

Galant has been interrogated about the land issue by State Comptroller Micha Lindenstrauss but no finding by the public watchdog has been released.

On Jan. 19, the High Court removed a major obstacle to Galant becoming chief of staff by rejecting an interim injunction sought by environmentalists of the Green Movement but Justice Esther Hayut left the door open for a possible reconsideration.

Lindenstrauss is reported to have uncovered new information regarding Galant's affairs but it isn't known what that is.

Galant's associates say he's confident he'll become chief of staff next month. But the recent public dogfights within the military, at a time when Israel faces new perils amid major social upheaval, couldn't have come at a worse time.

del.icio.us	Digg	Reddit
YahooMyWeb	Google	Facebook

Memory Foam Mattress Review

SPACE MEDIA NETWORK PROMOTIONS Solar Energy Solutions Tempur-Pedic Mattress Comparison ... Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News