Hundreds of former Israeli security officials have urged President Donald Trump to press Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to curb “settler terror” in the occupied West Bank, warning that escalating violence by occupiers threatens both Israel’s security and US interests in the region, Anadolu reports.
The appeal came in a letter initiated by Commanders for Israel’s Security, a group of about 600 retired officials from the Israeli military, the Shin Bet domestic security agency, the Mossad intelligence service, the police and the diplomatic corps.
The letter, signed on behalf of the group by former Israeli Deputy Chief of Staff Matan Vilnai, was sent Monday ahead of Netanyahu’s scheduled meeting with Trump at the White House on Tuesday, according to a copy reviewed by Anadolu.
“If the escalating violence in the West Bank is not stopped quickly and decisively, it could ignite a regional crisis with severe consequences for Israel’s security and US interests in the region,” the letter said.
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“You have the ability to prevent this disaster. Therefore, we hope you will use your upcoming meeting with our prime minister to deliver a strong and clear message on this issue,” it added.
The signatories said Israel’s security establishment was confronting Hamas and other Palestinian groups in the West Bank but faced “extensive constraints” in addressing what they called “Jewish settler terror.”
“It is no secret that members of our government are responsible for much of this chaos, in part by granting (occupiers) immunity from the law,” the letter said.
The occupied West Bank has seen a surge in attacks by Israeli occupiers against Palestinians and their property in recent weeks.
About 750,000 Israeli occupiers live in 156 settlements and 360 settlement outposts across the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem.
READ: Israel seizes 500 dunams of Palestinian land, occupiers establish 8 illegal settlement outposts in occupied West Bank
