Wikipedia

Aharon Haliva

Aharon Haliva (Hebrew: אהרון חליוה; born October 12, 1967) is a former Israeli Major general (Aluf) who commanded the Israel Defense Forces' Military Intelligence Directorate. He previously served as the head of the Operations Directorate, the head of the Technological and Logistics Directorate, the head of the operations division in the operations directorate, the commander of the 98th Paratroopers Division, the commander of the paratroopers brigade, and the commander of The IDF Officers' School (Bahad 1). He resigned his position on April 22, 2024.

Aharon Haliva
Aharon Haliva, 2022.
Native name
אהרון חליוה‎
Born (1967-10-12) October 12, 1967 (age 57)
Haifa, Israel
AllegianceIsrael Israel
Service / branch Israel Defense Forces
Years of service1985–2024
Rank Aluf (Major General)
Commands
Battles / wars

Biography

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Haliva, the son of parents born in Meknes, Morocco, was born and raised in Haifa. Haliva was drafted into the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) in 1985. He volunteered as a paratrooper in the Paratroopers Brigade, and in 1985 became an infantry officer after completing Officer Candidate School. Haliva fought as a platoon leader at the 202 paratroop battalion in Operation Law and Order in Lebanon.[1] Later on he led the 202nd Paratroopers Battalion in South Lebanon and during the Second Intifada.[2] Afterwards he commanded the Paratroopers Brigade's training base and the 55th Paratroopers Brigade. Later on he led the Efraim Territorial Brigade in counter-terror operations and commanded the IDF's Officer Candidate School (Bahad 1). Then he was assigned as the commander of the Paratroopers Brigade.[3] On the May 18, 2011 he was promoted to the rank of Brigadier General (Tat Aluf) and was appointed commander of the 98th Paratroopers Division. At the beginning of 2012 he told reserve officers in a closed conversation (referring to the 2011 Israeli social justice protests) "Because you demonstrated in Tel Aviv, the IDF has no money for missiles".[4] In 2014, he was appointed head of the operations divisions in the Operations Directorate, and served in the position during, among other things, Operation Brother's Keeper and Operation Protective Edge.[5] He finished his role in 2016.[6]

Major general

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On March 28, 2016, he was promoted to the rank of Major General (Aluf), and on July 13, he assumed his position as head of the Technological and Logistics Directorate. In November 2017, he forbade the holding of Torah lessons that took place outside Camp Ariel Sharon, a move that drew protest from hundreds of soldiers who turned to the Chief of Staff, Gadi Eisenkot.[7][8] On May 2, 2018, he finished his post. On May 21, 2018, he was appointed head of the Operations Directorate.[9] In January 2021, he appeared before the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee for a discussion on the theft of weapons from the IDF, after many break-ins into IDF bases and thefts of weapons on a large scale.[10] He served in the role during, among other things, in Operation Guardian of the Walls. He finished his position on June 9, 2021.

Head of the intelligence directorate

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On October 5, 2021, he was appointed head of the Military Intelligence Directorate.[11][12]

In his new position, he claimed that the Abraham Accords stem from the need of the population of the countries in the Middle East to improve their standard of living and deal with the climate crisis. Accordingly, he suggested that Israel focus on raising the standard of living of populations in neighboring countries such as Lebanon in order to bring stability to the region and claimed that a Lebanese gas rig is in Israel's interest.[13] Haliva also estimated that Israel has a security interest in stabilizing the Palestinian Authority in order to reduce terrorism and estimated that Operation Guardian of the walls would bring long-term peace in light of the economic stabilization processes he identified in the Gaza Strip.[14] Along with raising the standard of living of Israel's neighbors, he suggested focusing on precise, surgical damage to the enemies that need to be damaged, while avoiding damage to those not involved.[13]

The night before the surprise attack on Israel by Hamas, which began on the morning of October 7, 2023, Haliva was updated with information about unusual activity by Hamas, but he estimated that it was an exercise and recommended waiting for the morning before taking action. About 1,400 Israeli soldiers and civilians were killed in the attack.[15][16][17]

On October 17, 2023, he issued a letter to his soldiers in which he wrote about the failure to warn of a surprise attack on Israel: "We failed in our most important mission, and as head of the IDF Intelligence Directorate I bear full responsibility for the failure."[18] He refers to this event as "Black Day".[19]

On April 22, 2024, he resigned as head of the IDF Intelligence Directorate.[20] Yair Lapid welcomed the resignation on X.[21]

Personal life

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Haliva lives in North Tel Aviv, is married a second time and has five children, including two from his previous marriage. He has a bachelor's degree in social sciences from Bar-Ilan University, and a master's degree in social sciences from Haifa University.

References

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  1. ^ Gal Perl Finkel, Potential for strategic turns, The Jerusalem Post, February 16, 2020.
  2. ^ Finkel, Gal Perl (February 20, 2019). "Importance of IDF Ground Forces in new army appointments". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved May 19, 2024.
  3. ^ Amos Harel, The Soldiers Charge, the Generals Quarrel, Haaretz, February 11, 2010.
  4. ^ Cohen, Gili (February 13, 2012). "Israel's social protests undermined military training, says IDF reserve commander". Haaretz. Retrieved May 19, 2024.
  5. ^ "ההיגיון של חמאס גבר על ההיגיון של צה"ל". הארץ (in Hebrew). Retrieved October 26, 2023.
  6. ^ לימור, יואב. "בלעדי: הצצה נדירה לבור של המטכ"ל". www.israelhayom.co.il. Retrieved October 26, 2023.
  7. ^ ברוך, עוזי. "האלוף הפסיק את שיעור התורה בבסיס". www.inn.co.il. Retrieved October 26, 2023.
  8. ^ "ביטחוני - "לחדש שיעורי התורה בעיר הבה"דים" | רשת 13". December 31, 2017. Archived from the original on December 31, 2017. Retrieved October 26, 2023.
  9. ^ "אלוף אהרון חליוה מונה לראש אגף המבצעים". www.idf.il. Retrieved October 26, 2023.
  10. ^ "80 כלי נשק נגנבו מצה"ל ב-2020; גניבת אמצעי לחימה נוספים במגמת עליה".
  11. ^ "רשימת המינויים החדשים במטה הכללי". www.idf.il. Retrieved October 26, 2023.
  12. ^ "אלוף אהרון חליוה נכנס לתפקיד ראש אגף המודיעין. צפו בטקס". November 18, 2021. Archived from the original on November 18, 2021. Retrieved October 26, 2023.
  13. ^ a b שיחה אחד על אחד עם ראש אמ"ן, האלוף אהרן חליוה בכנס המכון למדיניות נגד טרור | אוניברסיטת רייכמן, retrieved October 26, 2023
  14. ^ יהושוע, יוסי (September 14, 2022). "המסר של המעריך הלאומי על היום אחרי אבו מאזן". Ynet (in Hebrew). Retrieved October 26, 2023.
  15. ^ זיתון, יואב (October 12, 2023). "צה"ל מאשר לראשונה: "היו סימנים מסוימים בלילה שלפני המלחמה"". Ynet (in Hebrew). Retrieved October 26, 2023.
  16. ^ יהושוע, יוסי (October 12, 2023). "בלילה שלפני מתקפת הפתע: ראש השב"כ הוקפץ למטה". Ynet (in Hebrew). Retrieved October 26, 2023.
  17. ^ "בצמרת הביטחונית התקבל מידע מעורר חשש ערב המתקפה, אך לא ננקטו צעדים". הארץ (in Hebrew). Retrieved October 26, 2023.
  18. ^ זיתון, יואב (October 17, 2023). "ראש אמ"ן: "לא עמדנו במשימה, אני נושא באחריות המלאה לכישלון"". Ynet (in Hebrew). Retrieved October 26, 2023.
  19. ^ "Israeli intelligence chief resigns over October 7 Attack". VOA. April 22, 2024. Retrieved April 22, 2024.
  20. ^ Goldenberg, Tia (April 22, 2024). "Israeli military intelligence chief resigns over his role in failing to prevent Oct. 7 attack". Associated Press.
  21. ^ "Major General Aharon Haliva: Israeli intelligence chief quits IDF over 7 October attack". Sky News. April 22, 2024.
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