Peace Now’s CEO, Lior Amihai, demanded that IDF Chief of Staff, Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir dismisses Central Command Chief Maj.-Gen. Avi Bluth over his actions on the West Bank during a Tuesday interview with KAN 11.
Bluth failed in his duty and "in practice turned the IDF into an aid force for the establishment of illegal Jewish terror outposts" in the West Bank, Amihai argued.
“Bluth is a representative of the youth of the hills in an IDF uniform. Zamir must act without delay and terminate his tenure immediately, in order to restore confidence in the purity of the IDF command," he added.
Peace Now is an NGO that promotes activities that could lead to a two-state solution to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict.
Amihai also accused Bluth of "not using security considerations to evacuate outposts," even after senior security officials warned that his policy “creates violence."
The Jerusalem Post has reached out to the IDF for comment, which has yet to respond to Amihai's accusations.
KAN 11 reports shift in settlements policy
The interview, conducted during KAN 11’s Zman Emet, was part of a large-scale report over a new alleged system used by the IDF to control settlements in the West Bank, both legal and illegal.
An officer from the IDF’s Central Command assured that Bluth’s arrival “completely changed the operational policy.” “Until then, the farms simply popped up, and we were forced to accept their existence as something for granted. But since July 2024, an organized mechanism for building farms in cooperation with the command has been in place,” he detailed.
The investigation also shed light on several warnings issued by security officials over this new operational policy, with many assuring that these moves would generate further violent incidents by Jews in the West Bank.
Rise in West Bank extremist violence
The report also came at a point where violence by Jewish extremists in the West Bank reached an all-time high, with the last incident occurring just on Thursday, when the IDF and the Israel Border Police responded to several incidents of settler violence in the West Bank near the Shilo junction.
The IDF and Border Police responded to a report of masked Israeli settlers throwing rocks at Palestinian cars and burning tires along Highway 60 after an Israeli outpost in the area was evacuated.
Several Palestinians were injured as a result, and one vehicle was damaged. Israeli authorities are conducting searches in the area for suspects.
On a separate incident on November 30, four foreign nationals were hospitalized after reportedly being attacked by a group of extremist settlers, according to government officials and the alleged victims of the attack.