Yisrael Galili (Hebrew: ישראל גלילי, born Yisrael Balashnikov;[1] 23 October 1923 – 9 March 1995)[2] was an Israeli weapons designer, best known for designing the Galil assault rifle.

During the Six-Day War in 1967, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) captured many AK-47 assault rifles from the Egyptian soldiers which proved more reliable and useful in the arid conditions against the FN FAL.

Inspired by the AK-47, the IDF assessed it thoroughly and began the process of designing a new automatic rifle.

The latter, together with Yakov Lior, invented the Galil assault rifle, named after its inventor.

Tests were conducted from the end of the 1960s to the early 1970s led to Galili's rifle emerging as the winner, as a result Galil was adopted by the military.