Israel Appoints Dado Bar Kalifa to Lead Central Command

The Israel Defense Forces announced that Maj. Gen. Dado Bar Kalifa will succeed Maj. Gen. Avi Bluth as the commander of Central Command in 2027. The appointment was recommended by Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir and approved by Defense Minister Israel Katz. Bar Kalifa, who currently leads the IDF Personnel Directorate and previously commanded the 36th Division in central Gaza, will oversee military units in Jerusalem, the coastal plain, and the West Bank.

The transition follows a public conflict between Zamir and Katz. Zamir had previously frozen senior appointments until 2027 due to the election period and rebuked Katz for announcing the replacement before it was formally coordinated. Katz had criticized Bluth for being overly harsh in combating Jewish extremist violence in the West Bank, while critics accuse Katz of rolling back administrative detentions for extremists.

Former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett condemned the decision, claiming the government is dismantling the IDF from within. The Central Command appointment was part of a broader series of leadership changes across the Navy, the Military Intelligence Directorate, and the Givati, Nahal, and Paratroopers brigades.