Army chief vows to keep politics out of military

Jerusalem: Israel’s new army chief on Monday vowed to keep the military free of politics, days after his predecessor spoke out against planned changes to military operations in the occupied West Bank.

Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi took office as the army chief of staff at a ceremony in Jerusalem. He is the first West Bank settler to serve as the military chief.

He succeeds Aviv Kohavi, who over the weekend spoke out in a series of interviews against dividing the military’s authority, particularly in the occupied West Bank. Kohavi wrapped up a four-year term.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has pledged to hand over control of the military body overseeing policy for civilian affairs.