Yiftah Ron-Tal

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Yiftah Ron-Tal is an Israeli businessman and former military leader. He is known for being the director of the Israel Electric Corporation, and he previously headed the Israel Port Authority and served as a major general in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).

Biography
Ron-Tal was born in Netiv HaLamed-Heh, a kibbutz in the Elah Valley of central Israel. He was drafted in 1974 into the Israeli Armored Corps and rose through the ranks to become the commander of the IDF Ground Forces Command. After his military career, he led the Israel Port Authority. By 2011, he was serving as the head of the Israel Electric Corporation.

Controversy
On October 4, 2006, Ron-Tal publicly said that IDF Chief of Staff Dan Halutz should take responsibility for problems during the Israel-Hezbollah War and suggested that Prime Minister Ehud Olmert should do the same. He also stated that using the IDF to evacuate settlers from the Gaza Strip in 2005 was a grave mistake that weakened the army’s combat capabilities. Following these remarks, he was discharged from the IDF while on leave, two months before his planned retirement; some reports say he had already submitted his resignation. His comments drew heavy criticism for being made while he was still in uniform.

Earlier, in 2003, he had advocated the liquidation of Yasser Arafat.