Israel’s Katz walks back on call to dismiss general overseeing West Bank occupation

Israel’s Defence Minister Israel Katz has walked back on an announcement made on live television calling for the dismissal of the military’s West Bank chief, Avi Bluth, over the Major General’s order to renew a restraint order against a settler who allegedly sexually abused a Palestinian.

Katz appeared on the right-wing Channel 14 news on Sunday night, denouncing Bluth for his push to seek a renewal of an administrative restraining order against Tal Yinon Dardik, who is accused of participating in a brutal settler attack on Khirbet Humsa in March.

Suhaib Abualkebash, a 29-year-old shepherd, recounted how Dardik and other settlers had stormed his town in the northern Jordan Valley and stripped him naked, tied his arms and legs, and zip-tied his genitals before parading him in public.

The Israeli settler, who lives in an illegal farming outpost in Area B, which is under Palestinian civil control, has been on a hunger strike for weeks after he was placed in a detention cell due to him breaching the restraining order. Katz met Dardik in late July in his jail cell.

After visiting him in jail, Israel’s defence minister called the military chief’s decision "unacceptable" and, on live television, went further by announcing Maj. Gen. Dado Bar Kalifa as his replacement.

"In the north, the south and the centre, I want an IDF that strives for decisive victory, an IDF that hurts its enemies, and protects the settlers," Katz said on Channel 14.

The Israeli army responded promptly by issuing a statement saying Bluth would remain in his post and that Katz had no authority to unilaterally fire Bluth.

On Monday, Israel’s Channel 13 reported that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was supposedly angered by Katz’s announcement, calling his conduct "obscene behaviour".

Hours later, the defence minister himself walked back on his initial announcement saying there was "no disagreement" between them and that the military chief was "performing his duties well".

Katz denied calling for the commander’s dismissal, saying his words had been misinterpreted. His office likewise denied having spoken to Netanyahu on the subject.

Israel's defence minister has, over the past week, publicly called for more severe action by the Israeli military against Palestinian communities in the occupied West Bank following the deadly settler attack on Tal, southwest of Nablus, on 24 July.