Israeli-Palestinian group says IDF West Bank chief must be sanctioned for ‘ethnic cleansing’

The Combatants for Peace organization, an Israeli-Palestinian group that opposes Israeli rule in the West Bank, called on the foreign ministers of the EU, UK, Canada, and Australia to sanction the head of the IDF Central Command, Maj. Gen. Avi Bluth, over his alleged role in assisting with the recent establishment of a settlement outpost on the outskirts of the Palestinian city of Jericho.

In its letter on Monday, Combatants for Peace pointed out that as part of his role, Bluth is responsible for protecting the Palestinian population in the West Bank, but accused him of carrying out “ethnic cleansing” against Palestinians in the territory.

The organization made a similar request to sanction Bluth earlier this year, due to what it alleged was his failure to prevent violence against Palestinian civilians by both IDF soldiers and settlers, amid a surge in settler attacks.

“The rapid deterioration in the West Bank demonstrates the urgent need to impose sanctions on Israeli officials involved in it, rather than targeting mainly far-right Israeli organizations and activists,” Combatants for Peace wrote in its letter to the foreign ministers.

“In light of our previous request to sanction Major General Bluth for his role as the official and de facto commander of the ethnic cleansing in the West Bank, as well as his personal involvement in facilitating the establishment of a new settlement in Jericho, we urge you to add him immediately to your respective sanctions lists,” the group continued, stating that such sanctions may influence his conduct and may also deter other IDF officers from similar conduct.

The letter was sent by Israeli lawyer and human rights activist Eitay Mack on behalf of Combatants for Peace to the EU’s chief diplomat, Kaja Kallas; UK Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband; Australian Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong; and Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand.

Last week, several dozen settlers associated with the Nachala settlement organization took up residence in eight buildings in a Jericho suburb, which Nachala said it had purchased in a secretive operation it only announced once settlers had entered the homes.

According to a report in Haaretz, Bluth was notified in advance of the plan but did nothing to prevent it, and even met with the settlers in advance of their entry into Jericho, and instructed them not to tip off top officers under his command until they had moved into the buildings.

The IDF said the report was false, but did not elaborate further.

The IDF and the Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the appeal for sanctions against Bluth.

Senior IDF officers have previously accused Bluth of assisting settler activists in setting up illegal settlement outposts in the West Bank and creating an “organized mechanism” to do so since he entered his post. Outposts were established across the West Bank during the term of the outgoing government.

Smotrich announces new settlement industrial zone

Separately, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich announced on Monday that a new industrial zone would be established in the Gush Etzion region of the West Bank, after it was recently approved by Bluth.

Smotrich, who has been the architect of the outgoing government’s massive expansion of settlements, said the commercial zone would be established on 750 acres of land close to the Tarqumiyah Crossing.

Smotrich said Bluth has signed off on the allocation of the land for the project.

Industrial zones typically provide infrastructure and space for businesses and industry located in the West Bank settlements.

“We will continue to lead a surge in construction and broad legalization [of previously illegal settlements], because this land belongs to us—it’s as simple as that,” said Smotrich, thanking Bluth specifically for his assistance with the establishment of the industrial zone.

Head of the Gush Etzion Regional Council Yaron Rosenthal said that the industrial zone would bring in over NIS 100 million ($31.7 million) in revenue annually to the municipal authority, and help the council provide residents of the region with “a high quality of life” while enabling the settlement movement to “take hold of the rocky soil on this good mountain.”

Government publishes tenders for over 800 units

Alongside the industrial zone development, the government published tenders for the construction of 818 housing units in two settlements over the last four days.

On Sunday, the Housing Ministry and the Civil Administration published a tender for 732 housing units for the Gvaot settlement in Gush Etzion. Tenders are a call for construction companies to bid on contracts to construct housing units after the planning process for them has been completed and approved.

And on Thursday, a tender was published for 86 housing units in the settlement of Oranit in the central West Bank, which straddles the Green Line.

According to Peace Now, tenders for over 3,700 housing units have been published since the Knesset was dissolved and elections called months ago.

Peace Now accused the government of trying to establish facts on the ground without a mandate, during its lame-duck period.

“A transitional government lacks the mandate to advance irreversible measures in the settlements—actions that deepen annexation, undermine the prospects for peace, and expose Israel to international sanctions,” said the organization. “This is a dangerous, underhanded maneuver by an outgoing government; the incoming government must cancel these tenders and put a stop to the unrestrained expansion in the settlements.”

The number of tenders published per year skyrocketed under the outgoing government, according to Peace Now numbers. Tenders for some 5,225 units have been published so far in 2026, and 9,629 were published in 2025, compared to an average of some 1,600 in the previous five years.