The General lost control: Why must the Central Command chief go?
While Minister Israel Katz attacks him from one side, unprecedented data reveals the real failure under the command of Avi Bluth in the territories and the alarming figure that jumped by 27%.
The Central Command chief, Major General Avi Bluth, has failed and it would be better for him to vacate his position as soon as possible. However, the reasons for his dismissal are the opposite of Minister Israel Katz's motives; not only is Bluth not firm enough against Jewish terror, through his actions and omissions, he has allowed it in the territories to break records and infiltrate army units as well.
Under Bluth's command, the army has lent a hand to the establishment of illegal outposts and farms, the border between the army and the settlers has blurred, and there has been a huge deterioration in the norms, values, and discipline of IDF soldiers in the territories.
There is no week in which a video is not published showing soldiers violating open-fire regulations, harming and humiliating Palestinians contrary to the IDF spirit, and abusing their power to bully innocent people. Faced with this lawlessness, the IDF's response has remained laconic and non-deterrent: "The incident will be investigated and handled disciplinarily," meaning nothing will be done. Shocking cases of live fire at Palestinian vehicles that did not endanger the forces, shooting at Palestinians who surrendered, and unreasonable use of force were not investigated in depth, and no one was prosecuted. The message to the field is clear: everyone is free to do as they please.
Even the regional defense units created to provide assistance in routine security are taking part in riots. On their own accord, settlers put on uniforms and use the military cover to beat and expel Palestinians. The Palestinians, for their part, no longer know whether it is an official act of the army or a private initiative of a settler in uniform.
Jewish terror is not just a spontaneous outbreak of violence, but an organized and funded move intended to clear areas for the establishment of outposts. Alongside the inaction of the Shin Bet and the police, Major General Bluth also contributes his part to the situation and does not take significant steps to calm the area.
A recent report by the Central Command points to an increase of about 27% in the scope of nationalist crime in 2025 (about 870 incidents) alongside an aggravation in the nature of the violence; 120 incidents were classified as severe compared to 83 in 2024. In the Jewish violence events, five Palestinians were killed and about 350 were injured. About 300 Palestinian families were expelled from their homes. Bluth himself ordered collective punishment measures and the uprooting of thousands of dunams of olive trees, in unprecedented moves that were never carried out by the IDF in the West Bank.
It is not for nothing that Major General Bluth receives praise from Minister Bezalel Smotrich and the entire settler leadership, which understands the depth of the unprecedented cooperation of Central Command chief Bluth with the outpost and settlement enterprise.
According to international law, in territory held and defined as occupied, the holding state is obligated to maintain the security of the local residents. Due to the fact that the territories were never officially annexed to Israel, the sovereign in the area is the Central Command chief; the responsibility for the situation rests on his shoulders, and he fails day after day in providing basic protection to the Palestinian residents in the West Bank.
The severity of the events was best defined by Major General Bluth himself, when he spoke before the settler leaders and defined the events himself as "Jewish terror." But words are one thing and actions are another, and in the test of results, the Central Command chief has lost control.
It is the irony of fate that for the extremist settlers, who manage Defense Minister Israel Katz, even this is not enough and Bluth is perceived by them as "moderate" or "leftist." Because for the monster called Jewish terror, even a Central Command chief who does the bare minimum and stops only exceptional cases of severe abuse is "too left." The golem has risen against its creator, and the day is not far off when the far-right will also demand the head of Minister Israel Katz, because from their point of view, anyone who does not fall in line with the absolute lawlessness must clear the way.
