Fmr Israeli security officials urge Trump to intervene over ‘Jewish settler terrorism’ ahead of Netanyahu meeting

A group of former high-ranking Israeli security officials appealed to U.S. President Donald Trump to take action against what they described as “acts of terrorism by Jewish settlers” in Judea and Samaria in an open letter published on Monday.

The letter came against the backdrop of a sharp escalation of violence in Judea and Samaria (West Bank) in recent days, triggered by a series of Palestinian terror attacks that led to a wave of revenge attacks by Israelis over the weekend.

The letter was also delivered just as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to depart for a planned meeting with Trump on Tuesday.

The group of officials, called Commanders for Israel’s Security (CIS), includes hundreds of former IDF, Mossad, Shin Bet and foreign ministry officials, advocating for a two-state solution. Most of its recent statements have focused on criticizing the Netanyahu government’s policies in Judea and Samaria.

In the statement, CIS requested that Trump send a “firm and clear” message to Netanyahu to prevent the impending “calamity.”

“Unless arrested swiftly and decisively, escalating violence in the West Bank is poised to ignite the region and carries severe ramifications for both Israeli security and U.S. regional interests,” the officials warned.

The letter claimed that Israel’s security agencies are “severely constrained when it comes to Jewish terrorists,” and that “certain members of our current government orchestrate much of this chaos, including by shielding their followers - who are armed and driven by messianic impulses – from the law and its enforcement.”

Should the “Jewish settler terror activity” and the “choking” of the Palestinian Authority continue, CIS argued, “the consequences may prove even more catastrophic than the October 7 Hamas atrocities and its multi-front fallout.”

Directly addressing Trump’s Gaza policy, the former officials warned such a scenario would “foreclose any option of proceeding with your Gaza 20 Point Plan and admirable ambition to expand your great achievement – the Abraham Accords, while risking signatories walking away from it.”

CIS includes several leaders who have long been identified with the Israeli left and were prominent critics of Netanyahu for years, including former Shin Bet Chief Ami Ayalon, former Mossad Director Danny Yatom, former Labor lawmaker Nachman Shai, the group’s chairman, former IDF Deputy Chief Matan Vilnai, among others.

Meanwhile, the violence in Judea and Samaria continued unabated into Monday. Senior security officials warned local leaders: “Now is the time to calm things down. If we do not succeed in the coming days, the situation will get out of control,” according to Channel 12 News.

The IDF significantly reinforced its troops, overall deploying 26 battalions in the area to calm the tensions, the report noted.

Over the past two months, security forces reported 219 incidents described as Jewish nationalistic crime, including five additional cases reported overnight. The incidents included arson attacks targeting mosques and private homes. In one case, suspects attempted to set fire to a house while a family was inside; the residents managed to escape, and police later arrested two suspects allegedly linked to the attack.

Senior military officials told Channel 12 that there is a lack of coordination between the settlers and the army that “ it is impossible to protect the settlements. This results in soldiers being required to carry out missions that divert them from the main mission – thwarting Palestinian terrorism. There is significant backing from elected public officials that creates a permissive atmosphere, and this is dangerous.”

In another example, Army Radio reported that the IDF acknowledged it was aware of a planned hike by a group of Jewish settlers through the village of Tell on Friday morning, which later became the scene of a violent clash in which two Israelis were killed by terrorists.

Contrary to previous reports, the IDF said it knew about the hike, but said it had not been approved or coordinated through the required channels, and did not explain why no precautions were taken.

Army Radio also reported the establishment of two new settlement outposts in the Nablus area, near the scene of the incident in Tell. The outposts are illegal under Israeli law, and join six others that were built since the attack on Friday.

The head of the IDF Central Command, Maj.-Gen. Avi Bluth, has the authority to evacuate outposts built in Areas B and C if there is a security justification, but hasn't ordered troops to take such action so far.

However, the IDF said the decision to evacuate the outposts would be made “in accordance with the situational assessment and the directives of the political leadership.”