‘We must prepare for conflict on multiple fronts,’ IDF chief of staff says

Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz hints at budget cuts that would weaken the reserve forces

By Sam Ser 10 August 2012, 1:09 am 6 Edit

IDF Chief of Staff Benny Gantz speaks at a ceremony in memory of the Israeli soldiers who were killed in the First Lebanon War (Operation Peace for Galilee) at the Mount Herzl military cemetery in Jerusalem on June 5, 2012. (photo credit: Uri Lenz/Flash90)

Israel must prepare for the possibility of a conflict on multiple fronts, IDF Chief of General Staff Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz said Thursday evening.

Gantz referenced Sunday’s attack on southern Israel from the Sinai Peninsula as an additional concern to the already alarming Syrian civil war and Iranian nuclear threat.

The chief of staff, who was speaking at an event celebrating reserve soldiers, also hinted at possible cuts in the defense budget that would potentially limit funds for reservists’ training and war fighting equipment, vowing to oppose such steps.

He also alluded to the public debate over conscripting ultra-Orthodox and Israeli Arab citizens for military service, saying that it was the duty “of all us, all of the IDF and all of society,” to recognize the sacrifices of “the minority that carries the burden out of a deep sense of service to the state.”