Northern Command (Israel)

The Israeli Northern Command (Hebrew: פִּקּוּד צָפוֹן‎‎, Pikud Tzafon, often abbreviated to Patzan) is the Israel Defense Forces regional command responsible for the northern front with Syria and Lebanon.

History

During the wars in the 1960s and 70s, the Northern Command was in charge of the campaigns directed against Syria on the Golan Heights and the Lebanese border. During the 1970s and 80s, it mainly faced attacks from the PLO, which was driven to southern Lebanon following Black September. Beginning with the 1982 Lebanon War, the Northern Command faced attacks from Hezbollah, a Lebanese militant group founded in 1982 to fight the Israeli occupation of Southern Lebanon. During 2000, the Northern Command completed its withdrawal from the Security Zone in southern Lebanon and was dispatched along the UN-sanctioned border. Although Israel's withdrawal from southern Lebanon has been met with UN approval, Hezbollah continues its attacks, mainly on the "Dov Mountain" area of Mount Hermon, an area occupied by Israel from Syria and which Hezbollah claims as Lebanese territory (see Shebaa farms).

Units

Structure Northern Command

The Northern Command commands regional units from Mount Hermon in the north, to Netanya in the south, with a significant presence in the Galilee and the Golan Heights. Its commander was Aluf Udi Adam, although he announced that he would leave the army once the last Israeli soldier leaves Lebanon. On August 8, 2006, IDF Deputy Chief of Staff Moshe Kaplinsky was appointed to the Northern Command as "representative of the General Staff to the Northern Command," in response to criticism by the government over the Command's handling of the conflict. This, in effect, made Kaplinsky the commander of the Northern Command, with the task of supervising the Ground Forces, Air Force and Navy in Southern Lebanon. Adam was replaced by Gadi Eisencott in October.^[1]

Units

• Northern Corps HQ
• 36th "Gaash"/"Rage" Armor Division (Regular)
  • 7th "Saar me-Golan"/"Storm from Golan" Armor Brigade
  • 188th "Barak"/"Lightning" Armor Brigade
  • 1st "Golani" Infantry Brigade
    • Egoz Reconnaissance Unit
• 91st "Galil"/"Galilee" Division (Territorial)
• 3x Reserve Armor Divisions, including "ha-Mapatz" (319th) Armored Division
• 3x Reserve Logistic Support Units (5001st "Northern Golan", 5002nd "Lebanon" & 5003rd "Southern Golan")
• Northern Command Signal Battalion
• "Shahaf"/"Seagull" Field Intelligence Battalion
• Engineer & Construction Battalion
• Alpinist Unit (a reserve unit specializing in mountain warfare)

Commanders

• Moshe Carmel (1948–1949)
• Yosef Avidar (1949–1952)
• Moshe Dayan (1952)
• Asaf Simhoni (1952–1954)
• Moshe Tzadok (1954–1956)
• Yitzhak Rabin (1956–1959)
• Meir Zorea (1959–1962)
• Avraham Yoffe (1962–1964)
• David Elazar (1964–1969)
• Mordechai Gur (1969 - 1972, 1974)
• Yitzhak Hofi (1972–1974)
• Rafael Eitan (1974–1977)
• Avigdor Ben Gal (1977–1981)
• Amir Drori (1981–1983)
• Uri Or (1983–1986)
• Yossi Peled (1986–1991)
• Yitzhak Mordechai (1991–1994)
• Amiram Levin (1994–1998)
• Gabi Ashkenazi (1998–2002)
• Benny Gantz (2002–2005)
• Udi Adam (2005–2006)
• Gadi Eisencott (2006–2011)
• Yair Golan (2011–date)^[2]

Notes

1. ^ "Eisencott replaces Adam as OC Northern Command", Jerusalem Post, October 19, 2006. Retrieved October 21, 2006.
2. ^ http://www.jpost.com/Defense/Article.aspx?id=228912