Ron-Tal was born on Netiv HaLamed-Heh, a kibbutz in the Elah valley in central Israel.

[2] He also said that employing the IDF to evacuate settlers from the Gaza Strip Israeli Settlements in 2005 was a grave mistake because it had seriously degraded the army's combat capabilities.

[3][4] While the comments themselves were not the most vitriolic heard since the end of the Israel-Hezbollah war, Ron-Tal was roundly criticized for making them while still in uniform.

Even though Ron-Tal was on a final leave of absence before leaving the army, orders state that active soldiers are forbidden from giving interviews to the media without permission from the IDF Spokesperson's Unit, especially resenting opinions about the army and politics.

In a previous controversial interview in 2003, he had advocated the liquidation of PLO chairman Yasser Arafat.