Defense Minister Israel Katz emphasized that IDF Central Command Chief Maj.-Gen. Avi Bluth has not been dismissed and is performing well in his role in the military, during a meeting with heads of the local authorities from the West Bank on Monday.
Katz's clarification followed a statement he made during a live Channel 14 interview on Sunday, in which he denied calling for Bluth to be removed.
Bluth has recently faced scrutiny for pursuing contradictory policies and allowing Arab terrorism to intensify.
Katz's meeting was at the Kirya military headquarters in Tel Aviv, and attended by various chairmen, council heads, and mayors. The goal of the meeting was to discuss combating Palestinian terrorism and strengthening West Bank communities, according to a joint statement made by Katz and local authority heads.
The West Bank authorities expressed deep appreciation for Katz's security policies, particularly referencing what they called a "settlement revolution" in the West Bank.
Defense Minister recognizes hundreds of new communities, farms in West Bank
The defense minister, with the help of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, has recognized 104 new communities and 160 agricultural farms in the contested area, along with returning IDF forces to the north of the region.
The West Bank leaders went on to hail Katz for canceling administrative detention orders against settlers, attributing an 80% drop in terrorist incidents to the policy change.
In their joint statement, the defense minister and the West Bank leaders underscored the importance of the West Bank communities as strategic assets for Israel and the ongoing efforts to combat Palestinian terrorism.