Nitzan Alon

Who is Nitzan Alon?

Major General Nitzan Alon is a general in the Israel Defense Forces. In December 2011, he was named GOC Central Command and became Head of Central Command in early 2012. He has a combined BSc in Physics and Material Engineering from the Technion in Haifa.

Between 1984 and 1998, Alon was assigned to various positions in the IDF elite General Staff Reconnaissance Unit Sayeret Matkal, being appointed its commander in 1998. While commanding Sayeret Matkal, he was awarded the Chief of Staff Citation for a covert mission he commanded. In 2001, he began working as a research associate in Washington, D.C.. In 2003, he was appointed as commander of the IDF 551st Brigade Hitzey HaEsh and in 2005 as commander of the Etzyon Regional Brigade in the IDF Central Command. In 2007, he was appointed as Head of the Israel Defense Intelligence Operations Division.

From 2009 until October 2011, he served as commander of the Judea and Samaria Division. In 2012, he became the new head of the central command. The appointment was criticized by right wing organisations and political figures, including representatives of the Jewish settlers in the West Bank. A spokesperson for the Mateh Binyamin Regional Council stated that Alon′s appointment to head the IDF′s Central Command "represents a certain aspect of 'price tag' on the part of the defense minister", but gave Alon credit for being "intelligent, wise and courageous", according to Arutz Sheva.