ISRAELI DEFENSE CHIEF CHANGE

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Defense Minister Amir Peretz change the epaulets as Lieutenant General Gabi Ashkenazi takes over as the 19th Israel Defense Forces chief of staff, replacing Dan Halutz, on February 14, 2007. Ashkenazi said during the handover ceremony that the IDF is ready to implement the lessons of the second Lebanon war. The handover ceremony took place at the Prime Minister's Office in Jerusalem. (UPI Photo/Rina Castelnuovo/POOL)