The Northern Command (Hebrew: פִּקּוּד צָפוֹן, Pikud Tzafon, often abbreviated to Patzan) is a regional command in the Israel Defense Forces. The command, whose main headquarters is in Safed, is responsible for all the units located between Hermon and Netanya. The mission of the Northern Command is to protect Israel's northern borders with Syria and Lebanon.
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 Palestinian Liberation Organization (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.
In the early 1990s, it may have included a full active armoured division and a mechanised brigade; three to four reserve divisions; four to five reserve mechanised and infantry brigades; and four to five territorial infantry brigades.[1]
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.
Command organization
Northern Command organization 2024
The Northern Command commands regional units from Mount Hermon in the Golan Heights, to Netanya, with a significant presence in the Galilee and the Golan Heights.
