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Northern Command (Israel)

{{Short description|Regional command of the Israel Defense Forces}}

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{{update|date=November 2015}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2023}}

{{Infobox military unit

| unit_name = Northern Command

| native_name = פִּקּוּד צָפוֹן

| image = PazanLogo.svg

| caption = Patzan logo, depicting a Persian fallow deer

| dates = 1948–present

| country = {{Flagcountry|Israel}}

| command_structure = {{armed forces|Israel}}

| battles = * 1948 Palestine war

| commander1 = Aluf Ori Gordin

| identification_symbol = 150px

| identification_symbol_label = Flag

}}

The Northern Command ({{langx|he|פִּקּוּד צָפוֹן}}, Pikud Tzafon, often abbreviated to Patzan) is a regional command in the Israel Defense Forces. The command, whose main headquarters is in Safed, is responsible for all the units located between Hermon and Netanya. The mission of the Northern Command is to protect Israel's northern borders 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 Palestine Liberation Organization (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.

In the early 1990s, it may have included a full active armoured division and a mechanised brigade; three to four reserve divisions; four to five reserve mechanised and infantry brigades; and four to five territorial infantry brigades.Anthony Cordesman, "After the Storm: The Changing Military Balance in the Middle East," 1993.

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 in the Shebaa farms area of Mount Hermon, an area occupied by Israel from Syria and which Hezbollah claims as Lebanese territory.

Command organization

File:Israel Northern Command - Organization 2023.png

The Northern Command commands regional units from Mount Hermon in the Golan Heights, to Netanya, with a significant presence in the Galilee and the Golan Heights.

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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)
  • Ori Orr (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 Eizenkot (2006–2011)
  • Yair Golan (2011–2014){{cite news |last=Katz |first=Yaakov |title=Assessing Quiet on Lebanon Front, 5 Years after 2006 War |date=July 12, 2011 |url=https://www.jpost.com/Defense/Assessing-quiet-on-Lebanon-front-5-years-after-2006-war |newspaper=The Jerusalem Post |access-date=May 3, 2019}}
  • Aviv Kochavi (2014–2017){{cite news |last=Zitun |first=Yoav |date=February 11, 2014 |title=מפקד פיקוד צפון הנכנס האלוף כוכבי: הזירה הזו איסלאמיסטית ואלימה יותר |language=he |trans-title=Commander of the Northern Command Major General Kochavi: This Area Is More Violent and Islamist |url=https://www.ynet.co.il/articles/0,7340,L-4587048,00.html |newspaper=Yedioth Ahronoth |access-date=May 3, 2019}}
  • Yoel Strick (2017–2019){{cite news |last=Opall-Rome |first=Barbara |title=Interview: IDF Maj. Gen. Yoel Strik, on transition to the northern theater |date=February 26, 2017 |url=https://www.defensenews.com/interviews/2017/02/26/interview-idf-maj-gen-yoel-strik-on-transition-to-the-northern-theater/ |work=Defense News |access-date=May 3, 2019}}
  • Amir Baram (2019–2022)
  • Ori Gordin (2022–){{Cite web |last=Fabian |first=Emanuel |date=19 May 2022 |title=Gantz approves home front chief as next head of IDF Northern Command |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/gantz-approves-home-front-chief-as-next-head-of-idf-northern-command/ |access-date=2023-10-08 |website=The Times of Israel |language=en-US}}

See also

References

{{Reflist}}

{{Israel Defense Forces}}

{{IsraelNorthernCommandChiefs}}

Category:Regional commands of Israel