Gadi Eizenkot salutes at a swearing-in ceremony held in his honor at the Prime Minister's office in Jerusalem, on Feb. 16, 2015. Lieutenant General Gen. Gadi Eizenkot was sworn in Monday as Israel's 21th armed forces chief of staff. Eizenkot received his new rank at the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem, who took the opportunity to warn that "the Middle East is falling apart" as the threat of the Iranian "empire" is growing ever stronger. Eizekot, 54, began his military career in Golani, one of the regular army's four infantry brigades. Throughout the 1990s, he served as the Northern Command's chief operations officer. (Xinhua/JINI)