Galant: I believe I will be the next chief of staff

After A-G, state comptroller reject his appointment as IDF chief, Galant says he has been made into public enemy.

By JPOST.COM STAFF
Galant 311 (photo credit: IDF Spokesperson’s office)
Galant 311
(photo credit: IDF Spokesperson’s office)
Maj.-Gen. Yoav Galant on Friday expressed confidence that he will become the next IDF Chief of General Staff .
In an interview aired on Channel 2 News, Galant also criticized current IDF Chief of General Staff Gabi Ashkenazi.
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"I have put the security of the state at the top of my priorities all my life since the age of 18," Galant said .
"Now they have made me a public enemy. This is an injustice that cannot be forgiven, and whoever is responsible must apologize, " Galant went on to say.
"If you can dismiss a chief of staff a week before his appointment, you can do this for everyone in the country," Galant continued.
"I'm not a candidate, I have been appointed," he added. "The government decided on my appointment, and only the government can decide on its cancellation."
On Wednesday, Galant appealed to the High Court, after Attorney-General Yehuda Weinstein and State Comptroller Micha Lindenstrauss rejected his appointment as IDF Chief of General Staff.
Referring to the investigations by Weinstein and Lindenstrauss, Galant said: "A parallel investigation like this - on the same complaint and for the same purpose - harms each of the investigating groups."
He added that the two were "competing...leading to the discrediting of each institution that 'lost' the competition."
On Tuesday evening, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu canceled Galant's appointment as the next army chief, because Weinstein said Galant's behavior in a land dispute in Moshoav Amikam "raise significant legal difficulties regarding the reasonability of appointing him as Chief of General Staff."
An appeal was served by Galant's lawyer, Dori Klagsblad, on Wednesday.
Galant also charged that he was not given enough time to defend himself before the comptroller, calling Lindenstrauss's investigation "a caricature of due process."