There was a changing of the guard on Jan. 15 in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF): Former Chief of General Staff of the Israel Defense Forces Maj. Gen. Gadi Eizenkot was replaced by Lt. Gen. Aviv Kochavi. Kochavi, “the philosopher officer,” was nicknamed in his youth “Mel Gibson” by the paratroopers due to a striking resemblance to the actor. Now he has received the reins to the most powerful army in the Middle East and one of the strongest in the world. But together with that comes the responsibility for innumerable headaches, bubbling powder kegs and ticking bombs scattered over diverse fronts.

An Israeli chief of staff does not receive even a hundred seconds of grace. Kochavi’s first test is already anticipated for Jan. 18 on the fences of the Gaza Strip. Again, Hamas has not received Qatar's money in cash as the third installment of aid to Gaza; meanwhile, the level of violence continues to rise toward the possibility of a new explosion. The Gaza issue is not the most dangerous of the threats faced by Israel, but it is urgent at this stage because of the lack of any checks and balances vis-a-vis Hamas, which has its back to the wall. In fact, Hamas has shown in the past that when under pressure, it will react violently against Israel. In addition, Israel lacks a strategic goal regarding Gaza-Hamas that could be implemented by the political echelons — in other words, by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The 54-year-old Kochavi has been viewed as an Israeli prince almost from the first minute. His military career began in the paratrooper unit, where he blossomed until he received command over the paratrooper brigade in 2001. It was in this role that he left his strategic mark on the IDF’s battle methods; he succeeded in overtaking the Nablus refugee camps and the Casbah in the 2002 Operation Defensive Shield with almost no casualties. Those were the days of the bloody second intifada in which hundreds of Israeli citizens were slain by suicide bombers who flooded the streets and cities. Prime Minister Ariel Sharon commanded the IDF to re-conquer the West Bank cities and uproot terror. Many IDF higher-ups were concerned about entering the crowded refugee camps and threatening Casbahs that were overflowing with weapons, mantraps, suicide bombers and explosives.

The assessment then was that the IDF would pay the price of dozens, if not hundreds, of fatal casualties and would be forced to kill thousands of Palestinians in order to complete the mission. But Kochavi, a young paratrooper brigade commander, was not deterred. He invented and developed a system through which his brigade took control over Nablus: infiltrating from the inside. Instead of advancing exposed through the narrow alleyways and Casbahs, the paratroopers infiltrated directly into structures and buildings in the heart of the city. From there, they continued to advance via the structures themselves: by breaking down walls to advance from house to house, without exposing themselves to dangers. The operation was successful beyond all expectations and was then carried out in other West Bank cities. The method developed by Kochavi is studied to this very day in military schools throughout the world. The US Army in Iraq and Afghanistan adopted it.