Eitan Dangot begins job as territories' coordinator

Eitan Dangot assumes rol

By YAAKOV LAPPIN
Maj.-Gen. Eitan Dangot, the new Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), formally assumed his post Sunday in a ceremony at the School of Coordination of Government Operations in the Territories at the Tzrifin army base. The ceremony was attended by Defense Minister Ehud Barak and the Deputy Chief of General Staff Maj.-Gen. Beni Ganz. Housed in the Defense Ministry in Tel Aviv, COGAT works with a range of organizations, including the Palestinian Authority, to shape government policy in the West Bank. It is also tasked with implementing the policy once it is formulated. The Civil Administration in Judea and Samaria is accountable to COGAT. Questions had been raised over whether COGAT's operations were being neglected due to a previous dispute between Barak and IDF Chief of General Staff Lt.-Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi over who should head the department. Finally, in August, Barak and Ashkenazi settled their differences, naming Dangot as the new coordinator. Dangot actually began the new job late last month. "It is very important for us to shape and implement our relationships and interaction with the Palestinian Authority's civil and security apparatuses as well as the international system, in order to provide a stable base for a possible future agreement," Dangot said, after being sworn in. Previously, Dangot served as Barak's military secretary. Dangot replaces Amos Gilad, who served as acting COGAT for over a year, on top of his job as head of the Defense Ministry's Diplomatic-Security Bureau. "Over the past year we have faced challenges that proves the complexity and outstanding prominence of this organization, including the operation in Gaza which brought quiet to the southern communities," Gilad said at the ceremony. "The Civil Administration in Judea and Samaria established relationships that created calm and enabled broad military and government activity for every possible scenario - from deterioration to maintaining the status quo," he added.