Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz sought to walk back his announcement that the army’s Central Command chief would be replaced, insisting on Monday that the move had been initiated months earlier on the recommendation of Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir, Anadolu reports. Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir requested the appointment of Dado Bar Kalifa as his successor, and now he’s turning against me,” Katz said, according to the broadcaster. The military said Zamir had no intention of replacing commanders in key positions during the current sensitive period. The dispute erupted after Katz announced in televised interview that Bar Kalifa would replace Bluth as head of the Central Command, which oversees the occupied West Bank. Bluth has served as Central Command chief since July 2024.