Northern Command (Israel)
The Northern Command (Hebrew: פִּקּוּד צָפוֹן, Pikud Tzafon, often abbreviated to Patzan) is the Israel Defense Forces regional command responsible for the northern border 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 in the Shebaa farms area of Mount Hermon, an area occupied by Israel from Syria and which Hezbollah claims as Lebanese territory.
Units
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.
- Northern Command in Safed
- 36th "Ga'ash/Rage" Armor Division
- 91st "Galil" (Territorial) Division (doubles as reserve infantry division)
- 210th "Bashan" (Territorial) Division (doubles as reserve infantry division)
- 319th "Ha-Mapatz" (Reserve) Armor Division
- 5001st "Northern Golan" Logistic Support Unit
- 5002nd "Lebanon" Logistic Support Unit
- 5003rd "Southern Golan" Logistic Support Unit
- Northern Command Signal Battalion
- Northern Command Engineering Unit
- Northern Command Intelligence Unit
- Northern Command Military Police Unit
- Northern Command Medical Unit
- 651st Maintenance Center
- Alpinist Unit
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)[1]
- Aviv Kochavi (2014–2017)[2]
- Yoel Strick (2017–2019)[3]
- Amir Baram (2019–present)
Notes
- Katz, Yaakov (July 12, 2011). "Assessing Quiet on Lebanon Front, 5 Years after 2006 War". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved May 3, 2019.
- Zitun, Yoav (February 11, 2014). "מפקד פיקוד צפון הנכנס האלוף כוכבי: הזירה הזו איסלאמיסטית ואלימה יותר" [Commander of the Northern Command Major General Kochavi: This Area Is More Violent and Islamist]. Yedioth Ahronoth (in Hebrew). Retrieved May 3, 2019.
- Opall-Rome, Barbara (February 26, 2017). "Interview: IDF Maj. Gen. Yoel Strik, on transition to the northern theater". Defense News. Retrieved May 3, 2019.