Former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett criticized Defense Minister Israel Katz's announcement in a television interview that he would replace Central Command chief Maj. Gen. Avi Bluth. Bennett wrote: "A government against its soldiers. After finishing dismantling the IDF from the outside and ensuring mass draft evasion, the October 7 government has decided to dismantle the IDF from within and ensure complete chaos." Yesh Atid Chairman and former IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot also addressed Katz's announcement, saying that "the spectacle that occurred on 'The Patriots' program is an unprecedented low in the relationship between the political echelon and the military echelon, an improper and illegal act. The State of Israel is not private property and the IDF is not a tool in the primaries of politicians who have lost their way."