Central Command (Israel)

An INSS analysis describes Central Command as combining the employment of military forces with responsibility for coordinating security and civilian institutions in its operational theater.[2] The analysis says its responsibilities in the West Bank encompass IDF units and divisions, oversight of the theater, and coordination with the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), the Civil Administration, and the Border Police.[2] It characterizes this remit as including the use of force, aspects of force buildup, and policymaking, extending beyond the predominantly operational responsibilities of other regional commands.[2]

The IDF’s published strategy lists Northern, Central, Southern, and Home Front as its four principal regional commands.[3] Regional commanders bear overall responsibility for their operational arenas during routine conditions, emergencies, and war, including protecting Israeli sovereignty within their arenas and developing the operational knowledge needed for their missions.[3] Operational commands employ forces, whereas professional military branches have responsibilities for building and training those forces.[5]

Central Command’s headquarters are in northern Jerusalem near Neve Yaakov, at a camp called Nehemiah Fortress.[6] The camp commemorates Maj. Gen. Nehemiah Tamari, who died there in a helicopter crash in 1994 while commanding the formation.[6] The command’s territorial responsibility covers approximately one-third of Israel’s territory.[6] A 2025 description included Judea and Samaria, Jerusalem, the Sharon plain, Gush Dan, and the Judaean Foothills; a September 2026 account also described responsibility for Jerusalem and a roughly 56-mile coastal-plain span between Mount Carmel and the Yarkon River.[4][7]

During the War of Independence, the IDF established North, South, and Center fronts, which were subsequently called commands.[8] The IDF itself was established by order of the interim government on May 26, 1948.[8] The command’s recorded leadership begins with Maj. Gen. Zvi Ayalon, whose first term ran from May 1948 to May 1952, followed by Yosef Avidar from May 1952 to 1953 and another Ayalon term from April 1954 to November 1955.[9] Zvi Zur became Central Command commander in 1956, deputy chief of staff in 1958, and chief of the General Staff for 1961–1963, having previously served as Southern Command’s chief of staff.[10]

Uzi Narkis commanded Central Command from December 1965 to July 1968 and led the Israeli front against Jordan during the Six-Day War.[9][11] Jordanian aircraft attacked Israel on June 5, 1967, and Israeli formations took control of most of the West Bank and surrounded Jerusalem’s Old City within two days.[11] Central Command counterattacked south of Jerusalem while an armored brigade, followed by an infantry brigade, advanced eastward from the coast across the high ground north of the Jerusalem corridor, seeking to sever connections between Jordanian forces in Jerusalem and those farther north.[12]

A reserve paratroop brigade under Colonel Mordechai Gur was rushed to Central Command and entered battle on the night of June 5–6 against heavily fortified Jordanian positions without adequate preparation.[12] Fierce fighting at the Police School and Ammunition Hill was followed by the capture of Sheikh Jarrah, the American Colony, and the Rockefeller Museum area, reopening a direct link to the Israeli enclave on Mount Scopus.[12] After approximately 24 hours of fighting, Central and Northern Command forces were converging from the south, east, and north of the West Bank.[12]

After the Ammunition Hill battle, Defense Minister Moshe Dayan met Narkis on Mount Scopus to discuss taking the Old City, including troop deployments and possible entry gates.[13] Dayan gave the eventual order to encircle and enter the Old City, while Gur issued the assault orders.[13] On June 7, Israeli troops entered the Old City and reached the Western Wall; the 55th Paratroopers Regiment under Gur was among the formations fighting in the central sector.[11]

At the end of the June 1967 war, Israel controlled the West Bank and three other arenas, and approximately 700,000 Palestinians lived in the West Bank.[2] The initial administrative emphasis was on managing the territory rather than establishing a long-term political arrangement.[2] Dayan’s aspiration for an “invisible occupation” sought to permit as normal a Palestinian civilian life as possible while retaining a measured punitive policy.[2] Israel did not declare sovereignty over the West Bank after 1967.[2]

Rehavam Ze’evi succeeded Narkis in July 1968 and served until October 1973, followed by Yona Efrat from October 1973 to June 1977.[9] The Civil Administration was established in 1981, after the peace agreement with Egypt, to move civil affairs in the territories away from the IDF’s direct responsibility.[2] Ehud Barak became Central Command commander in January 1986, between his appointment as intelligence chief in April 1983 and his appointment as deputy chief of staff in May 1987.[14]

In the late 1980s, the General Staff included three area commanders alongside senior staff officers and the commanders of the air force, navy, and ground corps.[15] The defense minister was the highest authority over the IDF, while the chief of staff was the highest-ranking officer and responsible to the minister; the General Staff handled organization, training, and the planning and execution of military operations.[15] Since the First Intifada, Central Command has focused mainly on routine security in its region, while its operational history also includes the War of Attrition and Operation Defensive Shield.[1]

Tamari commanded from March 1993 until January 1994, after which Danny Yatom returned to the post until April 1994.[9] The Oslo Accords established the Palestinian Authority, which assumed civil authority and some security powers in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.[2] They divided the West Bank into Area A, approximately 18 percent of the territory under Palestinian civil and security control; Area B, approximately 22 percent under Palestinian civil and Israeli security control; and Area C, approximately 60 percent under Israeli civil and security control, including Jewish settlements.[2] Official security coordination between Israeli and Palestinian security agencies began in 1996.[2]

After the second intifada began in 2000, the unit responsible for security and military coordination was abolished and its responsibilities transferred to COGAT.[2] A former Central Command operations officer recalled receiving responsibility in March 2001 for operational activity throughout Judea, Samaria, and the Jordan Valley, with instructions to shift from a defensive to an offensive posture.[16] Operation Defensive Shield in 2002 damaged terrorist infrastructure and was followed by fewer attacks, although the broader reduction in violence took another three years and involved defensive measures, Palestinian economic development, and security coordination.[2] When coordination resumed at the end of 2002, the Civil Administration assumed responsibility for it.[2]

On July 8, 2024, Maj. Gen. Avi Bluth replaced Maj. Gen. Yehuda Fox at a ceremony at the Nehemiah headquarters camp led by Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi.[17][18] Fox retired after a 36-year military career, while Bluth had previously commanded the West Bank division.[18] The handover followed three years of Fox’s command and took place amid increased operational activity during the Swords of Iron war.[17]

In September 2026, the IDF announced Maj. Gen. David “Dado” Bar Kalifa as Bluth’s intended successor, following a personnel-assignment meeting led by Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir and approval by Defense Minister Israel Katz.[7] The announcement did not specify an assumption-of-command date, although reports anticipated the change in 2027.[7] An October 14, 2026, situation assessment still identified Bluth as commander and listed the Judea and Samaria Division, Division 98, and Division 96 among formations operating in the area.[19]

The Judea and Samaria Division and six regional brigades—Menashe, Shomron, Ephraim, Benyamin, Etzion, and Judea—form part of Central Command’s stated subordinate structure.[1] The Valley Brigade also operates under the command along the Israel–Jordan border.[1] Forces conduct continuous activity to disrupt terrorist infrastructure, locate weapons, and apprehend wanted suspects involved in terrorist activity.[1]

The command’s organizational structure also includes the Fire Formation Division and the Lachish Command Training Center.[1] The Fire Formation includes the regular Paratroopers and Commando brigades and five reserve brigades.[1] Lachish prepares forces before operations in Judea and Samaria and the Jordan Valley, training them for challenges expected in the command’s sector.[1] A historical organizational snapshot from 2011 additionally listed the Jordan Valley and Valleys Regional Brigade, Nahal Brigade, Kfir Brigade, and Nitzan combat-intelligence battalion; that list describes the organization at that time rather than a current order of battle.[5]

Nine command departments, each headed by a colonel, oversee ongoing regional activity, lessons learned, and new projects.[1] These departments cover intelligence, engineering, technology and maintenance, logistics, human resources, operations, medicine, communications, and “Keshet Tzvaim.”[1] The combination of territorial formations, training facilities, and specialist departments supports both continuing operational activity and preparation for future missions.[1]

The Civil Administration is formally subordinate to COGAT, but its head also serves as a Central Command staff officer responsible for coordinating and managing civil operations.[2] Its work includes services and contacts with the Palestinian Authority, infrastructure matters, and security coordination.[2] Operational liaison includes notifying Palestinian forces of Israeli entries into Area A to reduce the risk of incidents.[2] Within the wider security framework, Palestinian Authority forces have security responsibility in Area A, where Israeli forces also frequently conduct operations; Israel retains security control in Area B and full security control in Area C.[20] Israeli Security Agency forces operating in the West Bank fall under the IDF for operations and operational debriefing.[20]

Border Police units deployed in the West Bank have operated under Central Command since the Six-Day War and carry out missions and operational plans formulated by the command.[21] Their combined policing and infantry capabilities support territorial missions, with forces allocated and trained by the IDF.[2] One organizational account estimated approximately 1,700 officers, organized into a divisional headquarters, 15 companies, and five special-forces units.[21] Another June 2023 description recorded 18 companies serving under IDF command, so these dated figures should not be combined into a single force total.[2][21]

Central Command has led campaigns against weapons smuggling and trade in the West Bank and an economic campaign against Hamas aimed at preventing financial transfers from Iran.[22] Responsibility for the Palestinian arena is divided geographically between Central Command in the West Bank and Southern Command in Gaza.[22] In 2025, Zamir announced that active-duty battalions would reinforce the Judea and Samaria sector to ease the burden on reservists, identifying stability, counterterrorism, community defense, and operations against emerging threats as priorities.[4]

An April 6, 2024, operational update recorded more than 6,000 initiated operational activities and more than 3,700 wanted individuals apprehended by April 2 in Judea and Samaria and the Valley Brigade area, including approximately 1,600 Hamas operatives.[23] It also recorded more than 70 brigade-scale operations and 19 demolitions of terrorists’ residences.[23] By the July 2024 handover, reported arrests since October 7 had risen to approximately 4,200 wanted Palestinians, including more than 1,750 affiliated with Hamas.[18] The command’s increased wartime activity included broad counterterrorism operations, arrests, targeted killings, and weapons destruction.[17]

A later account gave a reported 78 percent decline in Palestinian terrorist incidents across the West Bank during 2025, using Central Command figures.[24] That statistic covered the entire West Bank rather than Operation Iron Wall alone, and the underlying incident measure was not defined in detail.[24] In a March 18, 2026, letter, Bluth described thousands of reservists operating alongside hundreds of regional-defense personnel to protect communities, prevent escalation, and allow the state and IDF to concentrate on other threats.[25]

Eastern-border preparations also expanded the command’s responsibilities.[26][27] In August 2025, a fire center was being established to coordinate target information, requests from field forces, and IDF fire capabilities, with intended roles supporting the Judea and Samaria Division and responding to a major incident on the Jordanian border.[26] By December 2025, the newly forming Gilad Division under Central Command was developing responsibility for the northern section of Israel’s eastern border, while the southern section of the Jordan border remained under Southern Command’s Edom Division.[27]

Legal advice is provided by the department of the legal advisor to the Judea and Samaria region, whose remit includes the commander and relevant subordinate entities, the Civil Administration, coordination offices, police, Border Police, the security agency, and government ministries.[28] Its responsibilities encompass security and public order, emergency plans, civil administration, legislation, and legal proceedings, including assistance to commanders in protecting residents’ security and rights.[28]

A 2023 INSS analysis described Central Command’s distinctive institutional role as combining military operations with sustained territorial administration.[2] It said that, by June 2023, the command had maintained control over the West Bank for 56 years while operating amid Israeli and Palestinian populations with national aspirations and seeking long-term stability through offensive and defensive force and cooperation with other institutions.[2] The analysis characterized its responsibilities as including tactical objectives and strategy alongside the coordination of military, civilian, and economic measures.[2]

The same analysis described the command’s operational practice as combining force and restraint with economic measures and security coordination.[2] After the 2001 Dolphinarium attack, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon stated, “Restraint is also a component of power,” expressing a principle that the authors associated with this approach to the use of force.[2] In their account, the institutional framework places routine liaison, infrastructure issues, and civilian conditions alongside combat operations rather than treating them as wholly separate responsibilities.[2]

At the July 2024 handover, Fox stated that protecting Palestinian civilians’ lives was both a legal responsibility of the commander and an Israeli security interest.[18] He also connected the command’s ability to perform its tasks with a functioning Palestinian Authority and effective Palestinian security mechanisms maintaining law and order.[18] Fox said the command had kept West Bank violence from becoming a main front or diverting the IDF from the war’s other challenges.[18] Bluth’s March 2026 account similarly emphasized preventing escalation in the sector so that national attention and military resources could remain available for other threats.[25]

The command has also been a significant senior leadership assignment: Zur subsequently became chief of staff, while Barak moved from Central Command to deputy chief of staff.[10][14] A dated 2022 senior-officer roster identified Maj. Gen. Tamir Yadai as GOC Central Command among officers responsible for IDF branches and departments under the chief of the General Staff.[29] Such historical rosters document particular periods rather than establish the command’s present leadership.[29]

The command’s territorial authority operates within a disputed legal and political setting. Israel has not declared sovereignty over the West Bank, and INSS characterizes the military-administrative framework, under its account of international law, as belligerent occupation.[2] The IDF legal-adviser department states that its work includes assisting commanders in safeguarding security and public order while protecting residents’ security and rights.[28] Proposals discussed in 2023 included transferring Civil Administration functions to a minister in the Defense Ministry, changing Border Police subordination, and regulating previously unauthorized outposts, raising questions about the command’s integrated authority and coordination arrangements.[2]

Restrictions on assembly and movement illustrate the reach of military authority.[30][20] A 1967 military order required the regional commander’s permission for a “political” gathering of ten or more people, with permits rarely granted and violations potentially punishable by up to ten years’ imprisonment or a fine.[30] Closed-military-zone designations prohibited Palestinian public assembly in designated areas, including Friday demonstration hours near the barrier at Bil’in and Ni’lin.[30] Another recorded order barred Jerusalem Fatah secretary Shadi Mtour from entering the West Bank for six months, citing his Palestinian Authority- and Fatah-affiliated activities in Jerusalem as a security threat.[20]

At the 2024 handover, Fox condemned nationalist crime against Palestinian residents who posed no threat and expressed responsibility for every person injured “in body and soul.”[17] A separate public dispute preceded Bar Kalifa’s intended appointment: after Katz announced it in an interview, the IDF said the announcement had not been coordinated with the chief of staff and that key commanders were not then being replaced; the appointment was subsequently confirmed for 2027.[31]