Kochavi, who has served as deputy chief of staff since 2017, was picked after "consultations with dozens of people" including former premiers, Lieberman's office said.

Kochavi would take up the post at the start of 2019, succeeding General Gadi Eisenkot whose term ends this year.

The appointment must first be approved by a government committee due to meet on Sunday, before going before the cabinet.

Kochavi has served as head of the army's northern command and as military intelligence chief during the 2014 war against the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas in Gaza.

Military commentators said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had disagreed with the choice of Kochavi, a graduate of Harvard University and Johns Hopkins University in the United States.