The Chief of Staff informed Major General Winter about the end of his service in the IDF

Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi met today (Wednesday) with Lt. Col. Ofer Winter and informed him that he was released from the IDF. Chief of Staff Halevi, who informed Lt. Col. Winter that there is no intention to promote him to another position in the army, also met with other senior officers and informed them that they had finished their service in the army.

Lieutenant Colonel Ofer Winter, who was the commander of the 98th Paratrooper and Commando Division and served as military secretary to the Minister of Defense, was in his year of study at the university. Prime Minister Netanyahu recently considered appointing Winter as his military secretary, but his candidacy was dropped after Chief of Staff Halevi strongly opposed it

In the political system, they strongly attacked the removal of Lt. Col. Winter and claimed that it was a political move after senior figures on the right sided with Winter throughout the last decade and after Operation Tzuk Eitan in which Lt. Col. Winter played a decisive role.

The Chairman of Religious Zionism, Minister of Finance Bezalel Smotrich said: “The removal of Winter is a mistake on so many levels. The Chief of Staff should not have engaged in appointments and changes of positions, whoever is responsible for the military failure of the greats we have known cannot build the army of the next generation. Winter is an officer An attack that was not part of the concept and he finds himself dismissed in the middle of the war.”

The Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben Gvir: “Galant's careless and irresponsible conduct – giving up an outstanding and respected officer like Ofer Winter is a direct continuation of his poor conduct and omissions over the past months.”

The chairman of the Noam party, Deputy Minister Knesset member Avi Maoz, responded to the non-promotion of Lieutenant Colonel Ofer Winter and his dismissal from the IDF: “Instead of Harezi Halevi being dismissed, the Minister of Defense authorizes him to dismiss one of the most militant and high-quality officers in the IDF. Those who did not want the Ofer Winter as a champion, will receive him as Minister of Defense.”