The bombshell that IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Dan Halutz dropped late Tuesday night has set off a tight race over which general will succeed him to become Israel's 19th chief of staff. There are three main candidates - Deputy Chief of Staff Maj.-Gen. Moshe Kaplinsky, Defense Ministry Dir.-Gen. and former deputy chief of staff Maj.-Gen. (res.) Gabi Ashkenazi, and OC Ground Forces Command Maj.-Gen. Benny Gantz - plus a wild card: a former general who is now outside the defense establishment. On Wednesday, Peretz met with the main three candidates and consulted with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, opposition leader MK Binyamin Netanyahu, and additional officials regarding viable candidates for the job. Defense officials said that Peretz plans to bring his candidate - after reaching an agreement with Olmert - to the cabinet for approval this coming Sunday.
After a candidate is chosen by the defense minister, he will need to be approved by a legal committee led by retired judge Yaacov Tirkil, which will be responsible for determining if the appointment presents a conflict of interest or any other legal tangle.