Defense Minister Israel Katz stated his intention to appoint current IDF Manpower Directorate Chief Maj.-Gen. Dado Bar Khalifa as the new head of the IDF’s Central Command during a live interview with Channel 14’s “The Patriots” on Sunday night.
Katz told Channel 14 that his decision was made due to Bluth’s allegedly unsatisfactory handling of extremist settler violence in the West Bank. He accused Bluth of being overly harsh in efforts to combat Israeli settler violence while neglecting the fight against Palestinian terrorism from the West Bank.
According to the IDF, Katz’s statement was not coordinated with IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir. The military stated that Zamir does not intend to remove Bluth from his position at this time and that when any such decision is made, it will require Zamir's approval in accordance with the required protocols.
Katz’s office released a statement claiming that as early as the end of April, Zamir recommended Katz appoint Bar Khalifa as the Commander of the IDF’s Central Command.
According to the statement, Katz interviewed Bar Khalifa in June and deemed him a suitable candidate to take over the position when the time comes to appoint a new Central Command head.
Bennett accuses Katz of trying to dismantle IDF from the inside
Former prime minister Naftali Bennett decried Katz’s statements against Bluth, accusing the defense minister of trying to “dismantle the IDF from the inside and ensure total chaos.”
“After it finished dismantling the IDF from the outside and ensuring mass draft evasion, the October 7 government has decided to dismantle the IDF from the inside and ensure total chaos,” Bennet said in a post on X/Twitter.
He continued to promise the Israeli public and all IDF soldiers and reservists that “reinforcements are on the way,” asserting that “soon we will replace them and together we will fix it.”