(Translated from the Hebrew Original)
February 10, 2026
To: Prime Minister, Mr. Benjamin Netanyahu
From: Commanders for Israel’s Security
Subject: A severe blow to Israel’s security
Dear Mr. Prime Minister,
The decision taken by the Security Cabinet on February 8, 2026, to privatize land purchases in the West Bank and to take over Palestinian Authority powers in Areas A and B represents yet another grave step, demonstrating that your government intends to proceed with annexation of the territories along with their millions of Palestinian residents. In doing so, it endangers Israel’s security, its relations with Diaspora Jewry and with regional peace partners, and its international standing.
Direct damage to national security
These steps towards annexation will severely harm Israel’s security, most immediately due to the need they will drive to deploy IDF forces and Shin Bet assets to protect private property and construction pursued in the absence of full national planning that accounts for security considerations and capacity of the security establishment – and this at a time of manpower shortages amid challenges on multiple fronts.
The country’s security and that of its citizens will be harmed as these steps will further undermine the stability of the Palestinian Authority, whose security mechanisms’ activity – in coordination with our forces – against Hamas elements and other terrorist organizations is highly valued by our own security establishment, which attributes to it the saving of many Israeli lives.
The collapse of the PA (further exacerbated by the financial strangulation applied by your government) will saddle both our forces and the national budget with unbearable burden, given the resulting cost of managing and financing the lives of millions of Palestinians – at a time when the budget is already challenged, the burden on taxpayers is increasing, and the IDF’s manpower roster does not meet its current needs.
These moves, combined with the sharp and unabated escalation of Jewish terrorism in the Territories, contribute directly to – and will further exacerbate – the radicalization of young Palestinians and thereby to their arming and recruitment into Hamas and other terrorist organizations.
Taken together, these consequences of your government’s decisions may cost the lives of many Israelis.
Damage in the region and beyond
The Cabinet decision has already provoked harsh reactions from Israel’s longstanding peace partners (Egypt and Jordan), and the Abraham Accords community. Such rebuke has also been sounded by other nations in the region with whom normalization would likely be possible given different Israeli policies and decisions. In pursuing the policies reflected in the Cabinet decision, Israel is foregoing the opportunity for a fundamental revolution of its security position: integration into a regional coalition against Iran and other malign actors. As a result of these steps towards annexation, the peace countries are cooling relations and distancing themselves, and the regional coalition is forming without us.
This Cabinet decision constitutes a blatant violation of international agreements to which Israel is a signatory, thereby accelerating the process of disaffection from Israel of American and Diaspora Jewry and the isolation of Israel in the international arena, particularly among its important friends in Europe.
Moreover, the timing of the decision – on the eve of your meeting with the President of the United States, who has publicly expressed his firm opposition to the annexation of territories – raises questions about the judgment of the Cabinet and its leadership. Furthermore, your decision may be perceived as yet another attempt to disrupt President Trump’s efforts to advance an arrangement for the Gaza Strip, undermining his 20-point Plan.
In the name of the hundreds of members of Commanders for Israel’s Security – retired senior officers in all the security agencies and foreign service – I call on you to retract this dangerous decision, recalculate course, and change direction before we knowingly drive ourselves into disaster.
Sincerely,
Maj. Gen. (ret.) Matan Vilnai
Chair
To download the letter – Click here
