Jewish extremist violence against West Bank Palestinians substantially harms Israeli national security, IDF Civil Administration Commander Maj.-Gen. Rasan Elian said in his outgoing speech on Wednesday.
The head of COGAT – The Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories, including the West Bank and Gaza – said that even if the number of violent extremist Jews is small, it has caused outsized damage to Israel’s image globally, which also directly endangers the country by destabilizing the region.
Elian said that Israel must act more aggressively to reduce and eliminate this trend of violence against West Bank Palestinians.
He said that the violence also harms the reputation of Jewish settlers, whom he said are overwhelmingly peaceful and have contributed to Israel and its future.
IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir sounded similar messages, warning that when Jewish extremists perpetrate violence against West Bank Palestinians, the military is “obligated not to stand by” and must intervene in the defense of innocent civilians, regardless of their background.
In a direct order to Elian’s successor, former senior police commander Yoram Levy, Zamir said he expected that the incoming Civil Administration chief would also work hard to combat Jewish extremist violence against Palestinians.
Zamir also said that the administration’s chief has a unique position in the military, given that he not only works under the IDF chief, but also works directly with the political echelon in advancing Israel’s broader foreign policies and interests in the West Bank and Gaza.
In his incoming speech, Levy said that the IDF and the Civil Administration must be ready to adjust and fix errors.
While not specifying which errors he had in mind, he signaled a readiness to make immediate changes in the Civil Administration, saying it was important to act before an error blows up, and not after.
Regarding his role supervising all humanitarian aid issues in Gaza, Elian said that his and his soldiers’ efforts held back what could have been even worse delegitimization incidents.
Elian stated that Israel would not achieve its long-term goals in the region merely by force of arms, but that it must also balance strength with policies and values that remain true to its character in terms of democracy and tolerance of different groups.
In an emotional moment, Elian, who is known as a gruff and tough classic soldier, choked up with tears as he bemoaned some of the intersectoral attacks within Israeli society which could harm the stability of the mosaic of Israel’s diverse ethnic groups.
Elian pushed to increase humanitarian aid in Gaza
In summer 2025, when the world accused Israel of starvation in Gaza, Elian led the increase of humanitarian aid to address food insecurity where it was real, while debunking aspects of the accusations when it was not.
Under the retiring COGAT chief, some 112,000 aid trucks have been brought into Gaza during the war, including 1,700,000 tons of food.
In addition, some 1,800,000 tents and tarpaulin covers have been brought into Gaza, and 600,000 children have received polio vaccinations.
Currently, 16 field hospitals are operating, and over the course of the war, some 9,600 tons of medical supplies were brought to the restive coastal region.
There have been 42,000 Gazans who have exited to another country to receive health treatment or have used their dual citizenship status.
There have also been 5,000 international aid workers who have entered Gaza during the war.
COGAT has also provided 1,300 food pallets to southern Syrian communities, mostly to Druze-Syrians, during the war.
Zamir said that going forward, Levy must work with the police, the Shin Bet (Israel Security Service), and the IDF southern and central commands to ensure that innocent Palestinians are not harmed.
Elian steps down after nearly five years at his post, a long extension of the standard term.
Zamir surprised the crowd by announcing that he is seeking to keep Elian in the military in a new unidentified role.
There was some speculation that the role might be a new position of Civil Administration for Syria relating to the Druze-Syrian population in the southern part of that country, whom Israel has been assisting since December 2024.
A similar, but alternate role, might be the IDF chief’s adviser for Druze or Syrian affairs.
Both Elian and Zamir talked about the new role that the Civil Administration had already created and expanded in dealing with assisting the Syrian-Druze with various humanitarian issues.
Critics have said that Levy, Elian’s replacement, is an outside political appointee designed to reduce professional expert disagreements with the government regarding West Bank and Gaza policy.
However, IDF sources have expressed support for the incoming chief, especially after recent months when he has already started to work on transitioning into his new role.
Defense Minister Israel Katz attended the main ceremony, but did not speak there.
Subsequently, there was a much smaller and more informal toast, which was not live-streamed, where Katz gave a speech thanking Elian and praising Levy, who was his pick along with that of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu – with their hope that he will toe their line on settlements issues.
Besides that, the defense minister threatened Hamas with a new major IDF operation if it does not eventually disarm according to the terms of the Trump Phase II ceasefire plan.
It was unclear why Katz did not speak at the main ceremony, though there was speculation that his comments could be heavily scrutinized during a period when both the Gaza and Iranian fronts are potentially explosive.