Kahlon reportedly considers IDF general for party position

Moshe Kahlon may ask Maj.-Gen. (ret.) Yoav Galant to join his Kulanu party list, according to a Channel 2 report Friday.

The two have reportedly held several discussions, leading to the belief that the former head of the IDF’s Southern Command could join the list for the newcomer center-right party.

Galant, 56, has long been considered a valuable potential addition to many political parties and an attractive prospect for Knesset membership because of his extensive security experience.

He was widely lauded during his tenure as the head of the Southern Command, as he led much of Operation Cast Lead — the three-week conflict in the winter of 2008-2009 against Hamas in the Gaza Strip — from the field.

In 2011, the former naval commando was named to replace Gabi Ashkenazi as IDF Chief of Staff. However allegations that Galant seized public lands to make expansions to his home in the northern community of Amikam caused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to cancel his appointment to the IDF’s top position.

Galant’s rival candidate in the running, Benny Gantz, was appointed instead. Galant’s name surfaced again recently when Gantz’s successor was being determined, but the job when to Gantz’s deputy Gadi Eisenkot, who takes over in February.

Galant began his military career in the elite Shayetet 13 naval commando unit and, after six years, left the military in 1982 to become a lumberjack in Alaska. Galant returned to the IDF in 1984 and retired from active duty in 2012.

If the reserve general were to run on the Kulanu list, he would join the ranks of former ambassador to the United States Michael Oren and Israel Prize laureate Elie Elaluf. Experts predict that Galant, who earlier this month denied reports he might join Likud, would be placed near the top of the party list.

According to an Israel Radio poll on Friday, the Kahlon-led party is expected to receive nine seats in the upcoming election.