National Infrastructure Minister Benyamin Ben-Eliezer
Photo: Yaron Brener
Northern Command Chief Maj.-Gen. Udi Adam
Photo: Niv Calderon
Ben-Eliezer: Halutz should go
National Infrastructure Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer calls on Halutz to resign
Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Lit.-Gen. Dan Halutz should follow in the footsteps of Northern Command Chief Maj.-Gen. Udi Adam who declared he intends to quit the army, National Infrastructure Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer said on Wednesday.
Going Home
Hanan Greenberg
In meeting with IDF chief of staff, Major-General Udi Adam requests to be relieved of his post, Halutz accepts. Officers agree to find replacement for Adam as soon as possible. During war Adam was effectively dismissed after deputy army chief was sent in to command ground offensive
"I salute leaders who follow the beautiful tradition of responsibility in the IDF. That's the character of the IDF. They do not look for who's guilty. They say I am responsible, I was there and all the responsibility is mine," he added.
He said he "expects the chief of staff, whom I greatly respect, to say 'I am responsible' and leave the IDF. That will turn him into a straight and trustworthy commander who's a worthy role model."
Ben-Eliezer, a retired brigadier, said: "The war in Lebanon was a war that cost us dearly. The Israeli people paid a heavy price. The IDF, by contrast to the political echelon is a professional body which needs to provide security, it is our security ID."
"The chief of staff is not like the defense minister, who is here today and not here the other day," he said.
Adam's decision prompted representatives of army reservists, searing over the IDF's shortcomings in handling the war, to call for Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Defense Minister Amir Peretz and IDF Chief of General Staff Lit.-Gen. Dan Halutz to resign.
"Reservists welcome Maj.-Gen. Adam's decision to take responsibility and resign his post," they said.
