The Central Command (, Pikud Merkaz), often abbreviated to Pakmaz (פקמ"ז), is a regional command of the Israel Defense Forces. It is responsible for the units and brigades located in the West Bank (under the West Bank Division), Jerusalem, the Sharon, Gush Dan, and the Shephelah.
The commander (Aluf) of the central command is the one who is authorized to declare new cities in the Judea and Samaria Area.
History
During the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, the Central Command was in-charge of the war efforts against Jordan, particularly on the road to Jerusalem, occupying the "Small Triangle" (east Sharon), Lod, and Ramla. During the Six-Day War, the Command led the occupation of the West Bank from Jordan. As of the First Intifada, the Command primarily engages in security and counter-terrorism activities, as well as more conventional military measures, in the West Bank.
Towards the end of 2010 the deployment of IDF troops in and around the West Bank reached a new quantitative low with only half the number of infantry battalions serving where "dozens" were required during the first Intifada.
Units
Central Command in Neve Yaakov
98th "Ha-Esh"/"Fire" Paratroopers (Reserve) Division
99th "Flash" Infantry (Reserve) Division
877th "Judea and Samaria" (Territorial) Division
417th "Jordan Valley" (Territorial) Infantry Brigade
41st "Jordan Lions" Unisex Light Infantry Battalion
47th "Young Lions" Unisex Light Infantry Battalion
5004th "Central Command" Logistic Support Unit
Central Command Signal Battalion
Central Command Engineering Unit
Central Command Intelligence Unit
Central Command Military Police Unit
Central Command Medical Unit
650th Maintenance Center
Commanders
All commanders of the Central Command were ranked Aluf (Major General).
Zvi Ayalon (1948–1952) Yosef Avidar (1952–1953) Zvi Ayalon (1954–1956) Zvi Zur (1956–1958) Meir Amit (1958–1959) Yosef Geva (1960–1966) Uzi Narkis (1966–1968) Rehav'am Ze'evi (1968–1972) Yona Efrat (1973–1977) Moshe Levi (1977–1981) Ori Orr (1981–1983) Amnon Lipkin-Shahak (1983–1986) Ehud Barak (1986–1987) Amram Mitzna (1987–1989) Yitzhak Mordechai (1989–1991) Danny Yatom (1991–1993) Nehemiah Tamari (1993–1994) - KIA Danny Yatom (1994) Ilan Birn (1994–1995) Uzi Dayan (1996–1998) Moshe Ya'alon (1998–2000) Yitzhak Eitan (2000–2002) Moshe Kaplinsky (2002–2004) Yair Nave (2004–2007) Gadi Shamni (2007–2009) Avi Mizrahi (2009–2012) Nitzan Alon (2012–2015) Roni Numa (2015–2018) Nadav Padan (2018–2020) Tamir Yadai (2020–2021) Yehuda Fox (2021–)
References
Central Command (Israel) Regional commands of Israel