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Similar Southern Command, Central Command, General Staff of the Israel Def, Operations Directorate, GOC Army Headquarters | ||
The Israeli Northern Command (Hebrew: פִּקּוּד צָפוֹן, Pikud Tzafon, often abbreviated to Patzan) is the Israel Defense Forces regional command responsible for the northern border with Syria and Lebanon.
Contents
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 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. 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.
Units
The Northern Command commands regional units from Mount Hermon in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, to Netanya, with a significant presence in the Galilee and the Golan Heights.