President Donald J. Trump
The White House
Washington, D.C.
Dear Mr. President,
The hundreds of CIS retired generals and equivalents – each having served for decades in the IDF, Mossad, Shin Bet, National Police, NSC, or Foreign Service – salute your bold initiatives to stabilize the Middle East and advance peace in our region.
In that spirit, we look forward to the success of your forthcoming meeting with our Prime Minister and hope it removes remaining obstacles to moving into the second phase of your groundbreaking 20-Point Plan.
Specifically, we hope the meeting resolves differences on two issues critical to preventing the collapse of the current ceasefire and to transitioning to Phase Two:
Demilitarization as a Process
We welcome your plan’s emphasis on demilitarizing Gaza. Disarming Hamas and ensuring that Gaza never again threatens Israel is our Prime Minister’s priority and a core CIS objective.
Cognizant of global experience showing that demilitarization is a process, we hope the meeting produces an understanding about its phased nature.
For it to succeed, the disarmament process must be synchronized with measures that enhance its legitimacy and contribute to overall stability. These include early – albeit limited – reconstruction, as well as clear indications that Israel’s presence in the Strip is strictly security-based and will be phased out in step with progress in disarming Hamas.
Based on our cumulative millennia of security experience, it is our professional judgment that once Gaza is demilitarized, the IDF can effectively defend our border and nearby communities from within Israel’s sovereign territory.
Palestinian Authority Involvement
We believe the involvement of the Palestinian Authority – however imperfect and in need of reform – is essential from the outset. It is central to three critical components of your plan:
- Without an invitation from, and participation by, the PA, countries asked to contribute troops to the International Stabilization Force (ISF) may hesitate, fearing their involvement will be viewed at home and in Gaza as replacing one occupation with another.
- PA links to the Board of Peace and the Technocrats’ Committee are vital to legitimizing these alternatives to brutal Hamas control and to dispelling suspicion that outsiders seek to supplant the recognized representatives of the Palestinian people.
- Early PA involvement will ensure a smooth eventual transition to reformed PA governance and signal commitment to a future in which Gaza and the West Bank form a single polity.
We therefore hope that, following this meeting, the PA is tasked with issuing the letter of invitation to troop contributors and fund donors; is represented in the ISF; and has a meaningful link to the Technocrats’ Committee as well as to the Board of Peace.
We trust that the ISF will consist of contingents from countries committed to pacifying Gaza and preventing the reemergence of Hamas as an armed militant organization.
Mr. President,
Your achievements in Phase One are of historic significance. CIS shares our people’s deep gratitude for your leadership in securing the release of our hostages and for your commitment to bring home the last of them, Staff Sgt. Ran Gvili, for eternal rest.
As you know, the current situation-punctuated by recurring kinetic incidents-remains fragile. It threatens both Phase One and any transition to Phase Two. Time is not on the side of stability.
We therefore hope your meeting with our Prime Minister succeeds in opening the door to Phase Two of your plan and advancing your broader vision for regional peace.
Most respectfully,
Maj. Gen. (Ret.) Matan Vilnai
Chair
