Brigadier General Avi Bluth, 49, will be appointed Thursday evening to the position of Central Command commander.
At the same time, Bluth will be promoted to the rank of Major General - the first alumnus of the Eli pre-military academy to achieve that rank.
In the past, Bluth has served as commander of the IDF's Judea and Samaria Division, and he served as the Prime Minister's Military Secretary until the Bennett-Lapid government was formed.
Previously, Bluth served for two years as the commander of the Commando Brigade. His previous positions as commander also include Battalion 101 and the Maglan Unit.
"While commanding the Judea and Samaria Division, Brigadier General Avi Bluth led the efforts to thwart terror and protect the towns, the roads, and the 'seam line' region in the area, led the July 2023 Jenin operation, and commanded the division in the first months of the Swords of Iron war," the IDF said in a statement.
Bluth is a signatory to one of the IDF's most dramatic changes in recent years: the change in open fire orders. As part of this change, the conditions for opening fire on rock-hurling terrorists were relaxed, as well as the conditions for opening fire on terrorists carrying out ramming attacks, who began to escape the scene.
Bluth was raised in the town of Neve Tzuf in Samaria. He now lives in Nehusha, and is married to Adi and the father of six girls. Bluth earned a B.A. in philosophy, economy, and political science from the Hebrew University, and an M.A. in strategic thinking from the US Army War College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania.