Under fire from senior ministers, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu decided to postpone a cabinet vote scheduled for Thursday during which Defense Minister Ehud Barak was supposed to bring a proposal to appoint Deputy Chief of Staff Maj.-Gen. Yair Naveh as a temporary head of the army for 60 days.
The reason behind the postponement was cited as being technical – ministers need to see proposals 48 hours before a vote – but Netanyahu was expected to encounter resistance from Likud Party ministers who are upset with Barak’s decision not to extend Lt.-Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi’s term past February 14 and until he finds a permanent and suitable successor.