Dan Harel

He left the Artillery Corps in 1993 to become the Head of the Operations Department for the General Staff but returned in 1995 as its overall commander.

He then served successively as Military Assistant to the Minister of Defense in 1998, an Armored Division commander in 2000, and head of the Operations Directorate in 2001.

During this time Harel attended the US Advanced Artillery Officers' Course and the IDF Brigade Commanders' Course and also received a B.A.

[2] He later credited the mission's success to the nobility of the settlers and the restraint of the IDF troops, stating that now "the unity begins".

[3] Yet as rocket and mortar attacks have continued to be launched from the Gaza Strip against Israel, some Israeli papers have begun to criticize him for not planning for this predicted aftermath.