JERUSALEM, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) -- Herzi Halevi was sworn in as the new chief of staff of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) in an official ceremony on Monday.
The 23rd commander of the IDF served as deputy chief of staff in his former post. Previously, he was the commander of the Military Intelligence Directorate and commander of the Southern Command.
In the ceremony, Halevi stressed the security threats that Israel faces. "Our enemies should know: We can do what we say we will do, and we are ready to do much more than what we say," he warned. "We will prepare the IDF for war against arenas far and near," he said.
The 55-year-old commander was raised with a Jewish religious-nationalist background. He lives in Kfar HaOranim, a Jewish settlement in the occupied West Bank.
Halevi assumed the post amid heightened tensions in the West Bank, with the Israeli military making daily incursions into the West Bank in response to attacks carried out by Palestinians.
