The spokesperson for the Israeli army, Daniel Hagari, announced new appointments within the army's leadership on Thursday. Hagari reported the appointment of Shlomi Bandar as the head of military intelligence, in addition to appointing General Avi Balout as the commander of the Central Command in the West Bank.
### Who is Shlomi Bandar?
- Born in February 1975, he grew up in Haifa.
- He joined the Israeli army in November 1993, enlisting in the elite unit, the General Staff Reconnaissance Unit known as "Sayeret Matkal."
- After training as a paratrooper, he completed a fighter course in the unit, then joined the infantry officer course. At the end of this course, he returned to the unit and was appointed as a team leader. He participated in combat against the "resistance" in southern Lebanon.
- In 1999, he was seriously injured by an explosive device during a drill and, after several months of recovery, returned to the unit.
- He was later promoted to platoon leader, commanding several operations during the July 2006 war, and was then appointed as deputy commander of the unit.
- In 2010, he was promoted and appointed commander of the Egoz unit, serving until July 15, 2012. He then served in a staff position in the General Staff from 2012 to 2013.
- In May 2013, he was appointed commander of the General Staff Reconnaissance, serving until March 16, 2016.
- On September 4, 2016, he was appointed commander of the Golani Brigade, a position he held until May 24, 2018. After this, he studied in Washington, USA.
- On August 5, 2019, he was promoted to the rank of brigadier general, and on the 12th of the same month, he took command of the Galilee Formation, which he continued until April 26, 2022.
- On October 3, 2022, he was appointed head of the Operations Division of the Operations Branch. He is the primary person responsible for transferring Israeli army forces stationed in the Gaza envelope to the West Bank shortly before the "Operation Flood of Al-Aqsa."
- He holds a bachelor's degree in agricultural engineering from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and a master's degree in strategy from the National Defense University in Washington.
### Who is General Avi Balout?
- He is 46 years old.
- He served as the military secretary to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for three years.
- He is currently the commander of the "Judea" and "Samaria" division.
The list of appointments approved by Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant included Brigadier General David (Dado) Bar as the new head of the anti-corruption bureau, and Brigadier General Aviad Dagan as the head of the IT and communications division.
