Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak has decided to appoint Major-General Yoav Gallant as the next chief of staff of the Israel Defence Force (IDF), Israeli media reported Sunday, dpa reported.
The appointment is expected to be ratified by the government next week. Gallant, currently the IDF's head of the Southern Command, will take up his new post in several months, once Lieutenant-General Gabi Ashkenazi completes his stint as IDF Chief of Staff.
Barak's announcement comes in the midst of a police investigation into what is known in Israel as the "Gannt document", in which a forged memo claimed the general planned a smear campaign against Ashkenazi and other high-ranking officers in order to improve his chances of being appointed to the top IDF position.
Police ruled last week that the memo was a forgery and said that one of the candidates to replace Ashkenazi had been invovled in its composition.