Naveh appointment as interim army chief put off
Naveh appointment as interim chief of staff postponed, ministers want Ashkenazi extension
Army chief farce continues: The appointment of Yair Naveh as interim army chief had been postponed under heavy pressure from government ministers, who demanded that an extension of Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi be considered.
Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman was also among those who objected to the move.
Earlier, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak festively announced that Naveh's appointment will be approved by the government Thursday.
The special government session, where ministers were to vote on the unusual appointment of Major General Naveh for a period of up to 60 days after army chief-designate Yoav Galant's appointment was called off, will not be held.
Instead, the vote will be held during the regular government session Sunday morning.
While the official reason for the postponement is bureaucratic, behind the scenes ministers are exerting enormous perssure to change the decision, which had drawn immense criticism. Minister Dan Meridor and Moshe (Bogi) Yaalon were among those who led the demand to reconsider the problematic Naveh appointment.
Other senior ministers expressed their fury over the failure to extend Ashkenazi's term against the backdrop of his dispute with Barak, and exerted pressure on the PM to reconsider the Naveh appointment. While the ministers did not speak to the media, they criticized the hasty move in closed-door sessions.
The Prime Minister's Office said that as the decision on Naveh was made today, while 48 hours are required in order to disseminate the relevant documents, the vote was put off. According to the statement, the PM and defense minister will aim to formulate the final list of army chief candidates until Sunday.
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