IDF Maj. Gen. Barak takes helm of ground forces command

Maj. Gen. Ya'akov Barak was appointed as head of the ground forces command on Thursday in a ceremony at IDF headquarters. Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman as well as the IDF chief of staff, Lieut. Gen. Gady Eisenkot, and Barak's predecessor, Maj. Gen. Guy Zur, were in attendance. The 52-year-old Barak previously served as the head of the IDF general staff's operations branch and commander of the technology and logistics branch, among other posts.