Defense Minister Benny Gantz announces he will appoint Brig. Gen. Ghassan Alian to serve as the country’s next military liaison to the Palestinians, formally known as the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories, or COGAT.
In addition, Gantz decides to appoint Brig. Gen. (res.) Ofer Sarig to the role of IDF comptroller, a position he has filled in an acting capacity for the past year and a half.
Alian, the first Druze officer to command the Golani Brigade, will take over for Maj. Gen. Kamil Abu Rukun, who currently serves in the role and whose tenure ends in a few months, Gantz’s office says.
Then-Col. Ghassan Alian during a patrol in July 2013 in Jenin. (Yossi Zeliger/FLASH90)
Alian, who currently serves as the head of the Civil Administration within the COGAT unit, will be promoted to the rank of major general.
“The defense minister would like to thank Maj. Gen. Kamil Abu Rukun, who will finish his position as coordinator of government activities in the territories in the next few months,” Gantz’s office says.
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Thursday, October 8, 2020
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