Giora Eiland Giora Eiland ( born in 1952 , in moshav Kfar Hess ) is Major General ( ret . ) Israel Defense Forces . Eiland is former Israel ' s National Security Advisor . He is a senior research associate at the Institute for National Security Studies and holds an M . B . A . and B . A . in economics from Bar Ilan University . Biography . Military service . Eiland joined the army in 1970 , and served in the Paratroopers Brigade Battalion 890 . He served in a variety of roles within the brigade : as platoon leader ( 1973 Battle of the Chinese Farm in the Yom Kippur War ) , an operations officer , company commander ( 1976 Operation Entebbe ) , vice - commander of a battalion ( 1978 Operation Litani ) , commander of 50 " Baselet " Airborne Battalion ( 1982 First Lebanon War ) and reserve commander of the Paratroopers Brigade . Following First Lebanon War Eiland served as commander of Infantry Officers School of the Chief Officer of Infantry Corps ( Israel ) . In 1984 Eiland completed the Advanced Infantry Course at Fort Benning , Georgia , United States . After his return to Israel he was appointed as Operations Directorate officer in the Infantry Corps ( Israel ) . In the years 1990 - 1992 he commanded the IDF Officers School ( Training Base 1 ) , and in the years 1992 - 1993 was the commander of the Givati Brigade . At 1993 Eiland was appointed as the Chief Officer of Infantry Corps ( Israel ) in the rank of Brigadier General . In 1996 Eiland was appointed Head of Operations Division in Operations Directorate , and in 1999 he was appointed Head of Operations Directorate in rank of Major General . In this role he was involved in preparations for the IDF withdrawal from Lebanon and also in conflict with the Palestinians ( Second Intifada ) . In 2001 he was appointed head of the Planning Directorate . Still an army officer , Eiland took part in the political process , during the Israeli – Palestinian Peace Process and was appointed to accompany the Foreign Minister Shimon Peres , in his talks with Yasser Arafat . Eiland also represented the Israeli security forces in talks with U . S . , Palestinian and other officials . In 2003 , with the end of his term in the Planning Directorate , Eiland rejected an offer to become IDF attache in Washington , and retired from the army after 33 years of service . National Security Council . Eiland left the Planning Directorate and the IDF to accept , in January 2004 , Sharon ' s offer that he head the National Security Council ( NSC ) . Eiland was the fourth NSC head in the six years of the Council existence , previous - David Ivri , Uzi Dayan , and Ephraim Halevy - could not penetrate the walls around the Prime Minister office . However , contrary to Dayan and Levy , whose terms were marked by worsening relations with Prime Minister Sharon , Eiland had a constructive working relationship with the PM , despite their practical disagreements . In early 2003 , a few weeks after his retirement from the army and arrival to the NSC , Eiland became aware of Sharon ' s disengagement initiative - at that stage the initiative had more limited objectives in the Gaza Strip and broader in the West Bank . Eiland agreed that a political initiative was needed , but objected to both the content of Sharon ' s proposal and to the procedure for preparing and presenting it . In 2004 Eiland took part in drawing up the disengagement plan in close consultations with US Advisors among them National Security Council Middle East Advisor Elliott Abrams . Eiland shuttled with Ariel Sharon ' s Chief of Staff , between Washington and Jerusalem to hammer up successive drafts . It was Eiland ' s initiative to establish Disengagement Authority and set a realistic schedule program . The plan , as adopted by the Israeli Government and the Knesset , is largely a result of Eiland ' s formulation . During the year 2005 there were reports in the media about Eiland ' s criticism of the policy and national security decision - making process . After conclusion of the implementation of the disengagement plan , Eiland informed Prime Minister that he had exhausted his ability to influence the process and he decided to resign from NSC . On 1 June 2006 he was replaced as head of NSC by former deputy head of the Mossad , Ilan Mizrahi . After retiring from the Council . In 2010 Eiland headed team of experts examining the preparations and in the actual boarding of the Gaza flotilla raid . Eiland presented the report to the chief of staff , Gabi Ashkenazi on July 12 , 2010 . On May 29 , 2011 , Eiland said on Kol Yisrael Radio that in his view it would be better for Israel to let the next flotilla - expected to set out in late June 2011 - get through to Gaza , provided that the Government of Turkey would be willing to take responsibility for the flotilla , inspect all ships and make sure they were not carrying arms .