Today (Wednesday), the official exchange of the head of the Intelligence Directorate is taking place, one of the most important positions in the IDF. The current head of the Military Intelligence, General Aharon Haliva, has been in office for three years, and announced a few months ago his desire to resign, out of realization of the bitter responsibility that rests on his shoulders in light of the huge intelligence failure of the events of October 7. A few weeks later, the Chief of Staff announced his intention to appoint Brigadier-General Shlomi Binder as the replacement for Haliva.
General Shlomi Binder (who was promoted several weeks ago in honor of his new role) joined the IDF in 1993 and served in Sayeret Matkal. The days were the days of the security strip, and Binder gained extensive experience on the northern front, and was even wounded in action. Binder became an officer, continued to patrol, and even commanded a number of special operations during the Second Lebanon War. In 2013 he was appointed commander of the unit, leading it in Operation Protective Edge in the Gaza strip; in 2019 he became commander of the 91st Division (the Galilee Division), and in 2022 he was appointed commander of the operations Brigade in the operations Staff. Throughout his service, Binder was considered an outstanding officer, but he was severely criticized for his role in the events of October 7 (in contrast to Haliva, who is responsible for the failure to give warning in the hours before the war, Binder bears some responsibility for the forces’ functioning and the slow understanding of the situation in the first hours of the attack). A special committee was appointed to examine Binder’s performance after the publication of the Chief of Staff’s intention to appoint him to the important position, and it found that Binder functioned properly, and there was no prevention from his predecessor.
In front of Binder stands a very important task: Internal investigation and reconstruction of the intelligence system of the Military Intelligence Agency, with the aim of improving public confidence in the system, and preventing recurrence of incidents such as October 7. Not all the information is visible, but from the information revealed, it appears that Military Intelligence had broken working principles, which demand a substantive, institutional and immediate improvement in the face of the threats we face.
Hence, for another important task at the forefront of Binder – preparing for the threats that are standing to Israel, from all fronts. Iran threatens, war with Hezbollah seems closer than ever, we have not finished with the Gaza Strip, and we cannot ignore the ongoing threats in Judea and Samaria. The intelligence department will have to work incredibly hard to thwart all the threats around us – and we have no choice but to be outstanding, in the reality we are in today. We wish the Binder champion great success in his new role, and hope he will do everything possible to protect the citizens of Israel.
