First, let me be clear, I am an AR man to the bone.
Now here's my take on the Galil.
If you take the M-16, FAL, AK and combine their strongest assets you get the Galil. The Israelis have refined this unit to the point many now feel the Galil is one the world's best assualt type rifles. The Galil is heavy when compared to say the M-16. When a 5.56 Galil is fired using a full auto burst it should place all shots into a chest sized target at say 50-75 meters. It does good at practical miltary engagment distances and is very accurate for it's intended use.
I believe the SADF do mfg. the Galil under license and there could be others. Like most everything the Israeli make... the Galil was tested and designed to work flawlessly in the sand and mud and whatever muck is worked into the guts. The IDF really can't afford to have equipment failures in the heat of battle while out numbered 5-1.
IMHO, I believe the AR is much more accurate rifle compared to the Galil. I'm not an AK fan, but if I was forced to select an AK type weapon it would no doubt be the Galil, is it fair to catergorize it as an AK type?
Just me thinking loud.