Israeli War Minister Israel Katz has sparked a political and military storm after announcing the dismissal of Avi Bluth, the army's Central Command chief, during a televised interview amid opposition from Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir.
In an interview for right-wing Channel 14 late Sunday, Katz said he had decided to dismiss Bluth and appoint Dado Bar Kalifa as his replacement. The Central Command oversees the occupied West Bank, which has seen a sharp escalation in violence by Israeli forces and settlers against Palestinians and their property, according to local reports.
Katz said his dispute with Bluth began after the commander objected in court to the war minister's decision to release far-right activist Tal Yanon Dardik, who is accused of launching attacks against Palestinian civilians in the occupied West Bank. According to The Times of Israel, Dardik is suspected of involvement in a brutal March attack in the Palestinian village of Khirbet Humsa in the occupied West Bank, where he and other extremists were accused of forcing a Palestinian man to undress and parading him through the village while subjecting him to sexual torture.
Katz visited Dardik in his prison cell in late July, an unusual move for a war minister. Katz said Bluth and the military prosecution appealed Dardik's release, "contrary to my policy." "They did it against my position. It was a wrong move," Katz said. "The army commander in the West Bank must take my policy into account, and I will insist on that."
The Israeli army said in a statement after midnight that Katz's remarks "were not coordinated with Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir." "Maj. Gen. Avi Bluth leads Central Command under complex circumstances," the army said. "The chief of staff does not intend to replace commanders in key positions during this sensitive period," it added. "If such a decision is made, it will be based on established procedures."
In response, Katz's office said in a statement that Zamir had recommended Bar Kalifa for the Central Command post in April, after concluding that he was the best candidate. "Defense Minister Katz's decision was made based on the recommendation of Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir," his office claimed. Bluth has served as Central Command chief since July 2024, though commanders usually serve in the post for around three years.
The war minister's decision drew sharp criticism from opposition figures and former military officials. Former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett told local radio station 103FM on Monday: "I was defense minister, and I was prime minister, and I have never seen anything like this in my life." He added, "The outgoing government of Ben-Gvir, Smotrich and Netanyahu is harming Israel's security and trampling on our soldiers. Bluth's dismissal is a crazy step."
Former army chief and opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot was also critical. He posted on X: "The move represented an unprecedented deterioration in relations between the political and military levels." He added, "Israel is not private property, and the army is not a tool in the primaries of politicians who have lost their way."
Opposition lawmaker Elazar Stern of the Yesh Atid party called for the war minister's dismissal, posting on X: "I am calling on the Prime Minister to immediately dismiss the Minister of Defense. The Minister of Defense has lost all restraint."
Yair Golan, former deputy army chief and leader of the opposition Democrats party, called Netanyahu's government a "gang". On X, he wrote: "What we saw last night on Channel 14 was a political terrorist attack against the Israel Defense Forces [army] and the security of the state." He added, referring to Netanyahu: "The Minister of Draft Dodging, appointed to his role as a puppet on strings by a criminally indicted figure has turned the General Staff into a cheap reality TV show designed to appease a few lackeys on a government propaganda channel."
Golan further said, "Katz is contaminating the [army] with politics and turning it into a tool in the Likud primaries. This is not a government; this is a gang."
Even leaders of "Israel's" settlement movement backed Bluth. Shai Alon, the mayor of the Beit El settlement, called the dismissal "an absolute disgrace," noting that Bluth had "established 104 settlements" during his tenure. The Yesha Council, an umbrella group representing settlements in the occupied West Bank, also praised the ousted commander for his work "developing" settlements.
Yet, far-right political party Jewish Power lawmaker Limor Son Har-Melech welcomed Katz's move. Referring to Bluth, she claimed, "Under his command, occupiers were repeatedly persecuted." She added, "Anyone who wants to set Israel's security policy is welcome to take off his uniform and run for the Knesset."