# Northern Command (Israel)

The Northern Command (Hebrew: פִּקּוּד צָפוֹן, Pikud Tzafon, often abbreviated to Patzan) is a regional command in the Israel Defense Forces. The command, whose main headquarters is in Safed, is responsible for all the units located between Hermon and Netanya. The mission of the Northern Command is to protect Israel's northern borders with Syria and Lebanon.

## History

During the wars in the 1960s and 70s, the Northern Command was in charge of the campaigns directed against Syria on the Golan Heights and the Lebanese border. During the 1970s and 80s, it mainly faced attacks from the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), which was driven to southern Lebanon following Black September. Beginning with the 1982 Lebanon War, the Northern Command faced attacks from Hezbollah, a Lebanese militant group founded in 1982 to fight the Israeli occupation of Southern Lebanon.
In the early 1990s, it may have included a full active armoured division and a mechanised brigade; three to four reserve divisions; four to five reserve mechanised and infantry brigades; and four to five territorial infantry brigades.
During 2000, the Northern Command completed its withdrawal from the Security Zone in southern Lebanon and was dispatched along the UN-sanctioned border. Although Israel's withdrawal from southern Lebanon has been met with UN approval, Hezbollah continues its attacks, mainly in the Shebaa farms area of Mount Hermon, an area occupied by Israel from Syria and which Hezbollah claims as Lebanese territory.

## Command organization

The Northern Command commands regional units from Mount Hermon in the Golan Heights, to Netanya, with a significant presence in the Galilee and the Golan Heights.
* Northern Command, in Safed
** 36th Division "Ga'ash"
*** 1st Infantry Brigade "Golani"
*** 6th Infantry Brigade "Etzioni" (Reserve)
*** 7th Armored Brigade "Saar meGolan"
*** 188th Armored Brigade "Barak"
*** 282nd Artillery Brigade "Golan"
** 91st Division "HaGalil"
*** 3rd Infantry Brigade "Alexandroni" (Reserve)
*** 8th Armored Brigade "HaZaken") (Reserve)
*** 300th Territorial Brigade "Bar'am" – Western section of the Israel Lebanon border
*** 769th Territorial Brigade "Hiram" – Eastern section of the Israel Lebanon border
*** 7338th Artillery Brigade "Adirim" (Reserve)
** 146th Division "HaMapatz"
*** 2nd Infantry Brigade "Carmeli" (Reserve)
*** 4th Armored Brigade "Kiryati" (Reserve)
*** 205th Armored Brigade "Egrof HaBarzel" (Reserve)
*** 226th Paratroopers Brigade "Nesher" (Reserve)
*** 228th Infantry Brigade "Alon" (Reserve)
*** 213th Artillery Brigade "HaTkuma" (Reserve)
** 210th Division "HaBashan"
*** 9th Infantry Brigade "Oded" (Reserve)
*** 679th Armored Brigade "Yiftach" (Reserve)
*** 474th Territorial Brigade "Golan" – Golan Heights sector
*** 810th Mountain Brigade – Mount Hermon sector
*** 209th Artillery Brigade "Kidon" (Reserve)
** 371st Signal Battalion "Ayalim"
** Northern Command Engineering Unit 801
** Northern Command Intelligence Unit
** Northern Command Military Police Unit 390
** Northern Command Medical Unit 541
** Northern Command Maintenance Unit 651
** Northern Command Training Base "Eliakim"
** 5001st Logistics Unit "Northern Golan"
** 5002nd Logistics Unit "Lebanon"
** 5003rd Logistics Unit "Southern Golan"

## Commanders

* Moshe Carmel (1948–1949)
* Yosef Avidar (1949–1952)
* Moshe Dayan (1952)
* Asaf Simhoni (1952–1954)
* Moshe Tzadok (1954–1956)
* Yitzhak Rabin (1956–1959)
* Meir Zorea (1959–1962)
* Avraham Yoffe (1962–1964)
* David Elazar (1964–1969)
* Mordechai Gur (1969–1972, 1974)
* Yitzhak Hofi (1972–1974)
* Rafael Eitan (1974–1977)
* Avigdor Ben Gal (1977–1981)
* Amir Drori (1981–1983)
* Ori Orr (1983–1986)
* Yossi Peled (1986–1991)
* Yitzhak Mordechai (1991–1994)
* Amiram Levin (1994–1998)
* Gabi Ashkenazi (1998–2002)
* Benny Gantz (2002–2005)
* Udi Adam (2005–2006)
* Gadi Eizenkot (2006–2011)
* Yair Golan (2011–2014)
* Aviv Kochavi (2014–2017)
* Yoel Strick (2017–2019)
* Amir Baram (2019–2022)
* Ori Gordin (2022–)