Ghassan Alian ( ar, غسان عليان, he, רסאן עליאן; born 21 March 1972), is an
Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
i executive officer of
IDF
IDF or idf may refer to:
Defence forces
* Irish Defence Forces
* Israel Defense Forces
*Iceland Defense Force, of the US Armed Forces, 1951-2006
* Indian Defence Force, a part-time force, 1917
Organizations
* Israeli Diving Federation
* Interac ...
's
Central Command, Major general by rank. Alian is one of the highest ranking Druze in the IDF and has served since 1990.
Biography
Ghassan Alian is from
Shefa-'Amr
Shefa-Amr, also Shfar'am ( ar, شفاعمرو, Šafāʻamr, he, שְׁפַרְעָם, Šəfarʻam) is an Arab citizens of Israel, Arab city in the Northern District (Israel), Northern District of Israel. In it had a population of , with a Sunni I ...
.
His wife, Shirin, works as a Hebrew teacher in a local school. They have three children.
Military career
Alian was Chief Infantry and Paratroopers Officer and commanding officer of the
Golani Brigade.
He is the first non-Jewish commander of the brigade
and the second
Druze officer to command an
Israel Defense Forces infantry brigade; the first was
Imad Fares
Imad Fares ( ar, عماد فارس, he, עימאד פארס; born 1961) is an Israeli Druze and former brigadier general in the Israel Defense Force. He won acclaim as the commander of the Givati Brigade (infantry) from 2001 to 2003.
Fares was t ...
, commander of the
Givati Brigade.
Alian was previously the commander of the
Duchifat Battalion
Duchifat Battalion (Sayeret Dukhifat) is a battalion in the Kfir Brigade of the Israel Defense Forces.
History
The Duchifat Battalion (94th Battalion) was established in 1984 as an anti-tank unit. After its establishment, the level of profession ...
, a reserve unit commander with the
Alexandroni Brigade,
and commander of the Menashe District Brigade near
Jenin in the
West Bank
The West Bank ( ar, الضفة الغربية, translit=aḍ-Ḍiffah al-Ġarbiyyah; he, הגדה המערבית, translit=HaGadah HaMaʽaravit, also referred to by some Israelis as ) is a landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...
.
He had taken officer training at the same time as
Naftali Bennett
Naftali Bennett ( he, נַפְתָּלִי בֶּנֶט, Transliterated: , ; born 25 March 1972) is an Israeli politician who served as the 13th prime minister of Israel from 13 June 2021 to 30 June 2022, and as the 3rd Alternate Prime Minist ...
,
Minister of the Economy, who praised Alian's selection as Golani Brigade commander by calling him "a brother".
Prior to his appointment to the post of commander, Alian served as the brigade's deputy commander along with other appointments.
In October 2013
Benny Gantz
Benjamin Gantz ( he, בִּנְיָמִין "בֵּנִי" גַּנְץ, Transliterated: ; born 9 June 1959) is an Israeli politician and retired army general serving as the minister of Defense since 2020 and deputy prime minister of Israel si ...
, the IDF's chief of staff, made the appointment.
Alian was wounded in a battle on 19 July 2014 during overnight clashes in the northern
Gaza Strip
The Gaza Strip (;The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p.761 "Gaza Strip /'gɑːzə/ a strip of territory under the control of the Palestinian National Authority and Hamas, on the SE Mediterranean coast including the town of Gaza.. ...
as part of Operation Protective Edge.
He was lightly injured in his eye, but his vision was not affected.
He was evacuated to
Soroka Hospital in
Beersheba
Beersheba or Beer Sheva, officially Be'er-Sheva ( he, בְּאֵר שֶׁבַע, ''Bəʾēr Ševaʿ'', ; ar, بئر السبع, Biʾr as-Sabʿ, Well of the Oath or Well of the Seven), is the largest city in the Negev desert of southern Israel. ...
and while being treated he reportedly stated, "I have a lot of soldiers over there and I need to get back to them".
He later returned to his soldiers after being treated.
See also
*
List of Israeli Druze
This is a list of notable Israeli Druze.
The list is ordered by category of human endeavor. Persons with significant contributions in two fields are listed in both of the pertinent categories, to facilitate easy lookup.
Politicians and governme ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alian, Ghassan
People from Shefa-'Amr
Israeli Druze
Israeli soldiers
Living people
1972 births