The IDF's West Bank chief has become little more than a coordinator for settlers

Haaretz reported that IDF Central Command Chief Maj. Gen. Avi Bluth held several conversations in the days leading up to the establishment of a new settler outpost near Jericho. According to Haaretz, Bluth met with representatives of the Binyamin Regional Council, the Nachala movement, and regional defense officer Lt. Col. Elitzur Trabelsi, who was involved in coordinating the move. The report further claimed that Bluth ordered his usual subordinates to be excluded from the process to facilitate the settlers' plans.

In response, IDF sources told The Jerusalem Post that Bluth met with Lt. Col. Trabelsi prior to the move but denied that they discussed the outpost or acted without his designated officers. These sources stated that Bluth maintains constant meetings with West Bank settler officials regarding routine issues and that his discussions with Trabelsi were related to standard matters rather than the alleged plot. The IDF officially called the Haaretz report false, suggesting a misunderstanding caused by convoluted questioning.

Brief written by urgent.news from Haaretz, Jerusalem Post — 2 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.