Katz announces he’s replacing top West Bank general; IDF says he’ll stay in his role
Defense Minister Israel Katz set off an extraordinary public collision with the military Sunday night, sparking outrage in the opposition and jubilance on the far right, as he denounced IDF Central Command chief Maj. Gen. Avi Bluth and announced a replacement for him on live television.The military quickly put out a sharp statement saying Bluth would remain in his post. The defense minister does not have the authority to unilaterally fire Bluth.Speaking with the right-wing Channel 14 news, Katz said Bluth had contravened his policy by seeking to renew an administrative restraining order against a violent settler, and that this was unacceptable.The settler, Tal Yinon Dardik, is suspected of a brutal March attack in Khirbet Humsa, a Palestinian village in the West Bank, where he, along with other extremist settlers, allegedly stripped a Palestinian victim, zip-tied his genitals, and paraded him around the village.Dardik, who lives on a farming outpost…
Defense Minister Israel Katz publicly announced the replacement of IDF Central Command chief Maj. Gen. Avi Bluth on Channel 14, sparking a conflict with the military. Katz stated Bluth had contravened his policy by seeking to renew an administrative restraining order against a violent settler, Tal Yinon Dardik, who is suspected of a brutal attack in a Palestinian village. The IDF quickly responded, asserting that Bluth would remain in his post and that Katz's announcement was "not coordinated" with the Chief of Staff, Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir. Opposition leaders criticized Katz's actions as an "unprecedented lowpoint in relations between the political and military echelons." Katz's office later claimed Zamir had recommended a successor for Bluth months prior, and Katz had accepted this recommendation.
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