Ghassan Alian

Ghassan Alian (, ; born 21 March 1972) is an Israeli-Druze officer in the IDF and the current head of the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories. Aluf by rank (equivalent to Major General), he has previously served as Central Command's executive officer and head of the Israeli Civil Administration. Alian is one of the highest ranking Druze Arabs in the IDF and has served since 1990.

Biography

Ghassan Alian is from Shefa-'Amr. He and his wife Shirin have three children.

Military career

Alian was Chief Infantry and Paratroopers Officer and commanding officer of the Golani Brigade. He is the first non-Jewish commander of the brigade and the second Druze officer to command an Israel Defense Forces infantry brigade; the first was Imad Fares, commander of the Givati Brigade.
Alian was previously the commander of the Duchifat Battalion, a reserve unit commander with the Alexandroni Brigade, and commander of the Menashe Territorial Brigade near Jenin in the West Bank. He had taken officer training at the same time as Naftali Bennett, Minister of the Economy, who praised Alian's selection as Golani Brigade commander by calling him "a brother". Prior to his appointment to the post of commander, Alian served as the brigade's deputy commander along with other appointments. In October 2013 Benny Gantz, the IDF's chief of staff, made the appointment.

Alian was wounded in a battle on 19 July 2014 during overnight clashes in the northern Gaza Strip as part of Operation Protective Edge. He was lightly injured in his eye, but his vision was not affected. He was evacuated to Soroka Hospital in Beersheba and while being treated he reportedly stated, "I have a lot of soldiers over there and I need to get back to them". He later returned to his soldiers after being treated.

On March 14, 2021, he was promoted to Aluf rank and on April 6 of the same year he began his role as the head of the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories.

In the wake of the Hamas invasion on 7 October, he was criticized for saying "We are fighting human animals and we act accordingly."

In January 2025, the Hind Rajab Foundation urged Italian authorities to arrest Ghassan for alleged genocide and war crimes during his reported visit to Rome. The requests were submitted to the ICC and Italian authorities. The HRF accused him of enforcing Gaza’s total blockade post-October-2023, with the Foundation saying that he weaponized famine by cutting food, water, and medical supplies, as well as targeting hospitals and infrastructure. Italy had denied his inclusion in Foreign Minister Gideon Saar’s delegation, while Israel confirmed his visit had occurred separately. United Nations (UN) Special Rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese, writing on X (formerly Twitter), supported the HRF’s efforts to hold Alian accountable for alleged war crimes. Noting his potential imminent departure from Italy, she described the need for stronger global legal networks to swiftly address suspects of international crimes.

See also

*List of Israeli Druze

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alian, Ghassan
People from Shefa-'Amr
Israeli Druze people
Israeli generals
Living people
1972 births