Incoming southern commander: Security reality is dynamic and explosive

Maj.-Gen. Eyal Zamir replaced Maj.-Gen. Sami Turgerman during a ceremony at IDF headquarters in Tel Aviv.

By YAAKOV LAPPIN
Updated: OCTOBER 7, 2015 02:16
Newly appointed IDF Southern Command chief Maj.-Gen. Eyal Zamir (right) shakes hands with IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Gadi Eisenkot. (photo credit: IDF SPOKESMAN’S UNIT)
Newly appointed IDF Southern Command chief Maj.-Gen. Eyal Zamir (right) shakes hands with IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Gadi Eisenkot.
(photo credit: IDF SPOKESMAN’S UNIT)
The IDF appointed a new OC Southern Command on Tuesday, who warned that Israel faces many security challenges on its southern borders.
Maj.-Gen. Eyal Zamir replaced Maj.-Gen. Sami Turgeman at a ceremony at IDF headquarters in Tel Aviv.
Turgeman has served in his post for the past two and a half years, and was a key figure in Israel’s 50-day Operation Protective Edge with Hamas and Islamic Jihad in Gaza in the summer of 2014.
Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon, who attended the ceremony, praised the incoming and outgoing commanders, saying, “We will do everything so that the current period of relative quiet [in the South] continues, but we will be prepared for eruptions.”
Maj.-Gen. Zamir said during the ceremony that the “challenges as I understand them from the past, and which I studied recently, are many on all fronts – the Gaza Strip, Sinai, and the Arava. The reality is dynamic and explosive, as recent days prove, particularly in east Jerusalem and Judea and Samaria.”
“Sami, in my eyes, is a good example of an excellent officer, a combat leader. You also proved it in your last role, as well as your calm, stability, sound judgment, and leadership. All of these found expression in Operation Protective Edge, from the way you prepared the command and to the way you led and influenced greatly the successful campaign,” Zamir added.