The cabinet is expected to approve the appointment of Major General Gadi Eisenkot as the next chief of staff of the Israel Defence Force on Sunday.

Maj-Gen Eisenkot, 54, is currently the deputy chief of staff and served most of his 36-year army career as a combat officer in the Golani infantry brigade.

The current chief of staff, Lieutenant General Benny Gantz, will be stepping down in February.

Four years ago, when Lt-Gen Gantz was appointed, the expectation among many in the IDF was that he would lead a strike against Iran's nuclear installations. Both he and Maj-Gen Eisenkot were opposed to such an operation, and the latter even wrote to the prime minister urging against it. The fact that Maj-Gen Eisenkot has now been promoted to the IDF's top job strengthens the belief that such an attack is no longer on the cards.