(Translation based on the Hebrew Original)
To: Commander of the IDF Central Command
From: Commanders for Israel’s Security (CIS)
CC: Minister of Defense, IDF Chief of Staff, Head of the ISA (Shin Bet), Israel Police Commissioner, Head of COGAT, Military Advocate General
Re: Criminal and Destructive Jewish Violence in the West Bank
Sir,
Some six months ago, Major Generals (Res.) Matan Vilnai and Danny Yatom met with you on behalf of “Commanders for Israel’s Security.” The meeting was initiated following alarming reports from colleagues in the field and various other sources regarding violent activity and terrorism by Jewish rioters against Palestinians in the West Bank. We were primarily concerned by what appeared to be the IDF’s failure to prevent, thwart, and effectively address the issue, as well as the deliberate absence of action by the Israel Police.
We approached you given your legal status as the sovereign authority and the coordinator of all security agencies in the West Bank. During the meeting, where we presented relevant information, you expressed a principled and concrete commitment to act with determination and without reservation against Jewish violence.
To our regret and concern, Jewish violence and terrorism have since further intensified, becoming a daily, permanent, and terrifying phenomenon. We receive these reports from field sources, the media, and first hand reports from colleagues on the ground.
This is not a matter of a few rioters or “wild weeds.” These violent acts are backed by an organized system with various layers of institutional hierarchy. This system has clear objectives: to clear significant areas of Palestinian presence through threats, severe harm to life and property, and outright riots and pogroms. It should also be noted that these rioters have attacked IDF soldiers and property as well as Israeli civilians who volunteer to deter those very brutal acts.
The responsibility to prevent harm and protect all of the population rests first and foremost with the Regional Commander. We are mindful of the excellent and determined effort you lead against Palestinian terrorism, particularly Hamas’. This highlights the excellent capabilities and resolve of our security agencies in fighting Palestinian terror. Conversely, it exposes the total failure of those same agencies in dealing with Jewish terror and violence. It appears that under your command, the IDF lacks the determination to act. Not only is there no apparent inter-agency cooperation against Jewish terror, but worse yet, we have found evidence of a tendency to look the other way and at times, of individuals in uniform (whether authentic or under false guise) collaborating and participating in these violent acts.
Assuming that all this can go unnoticed while all attention is on other fronts is as reckless as treating it as a marginal phenomenon or assuming that dealing with it can be postponed for “the day after.”
Settler violence and terror radicalize Palestinians, sending them to arm and join Hamas and other terror organizations. It replicates the logic – and threatens to produce the result – of the transfer of funds to Hamas prior to October 7.
There may be political or ideological elements aiming to set the area ablaze, to drag the IDF into a full-scale war in the West Bank, and to create an outcome resembling Gaza. Such a policy would be a devastating blow to our national security. It must be stopped.
The moral and ethical degradation associated with this phenomenon infects our society and the military. It causes enormous damage to the State of Israel within the international community and Jewish Diaspora. And failing to deal forcefully with Jewish terror places every IDF soldier traveling abroad at legal risk.
We are determined to continue to be present in the Territories and to ensure that you and others are informed of our findings.
We hope that going forward your actions reflect a determined, uncompromising and effective stand against Jewish violence and terror.
Sincerely,
Major General (Res.) Matan Vilnai, Chair
Former IDF Deputy Chief of Staff
Major General (Res.) Danny Yatom
Former Head of Mossad
Major General (Res.) Yaakov Or
Former Coordinator of Government Activity in the Territories
Brigadier General (Res.) Ephraim Sneh
Former Deputy Minister of Defense
Click here to Download the letter (PDF)
***
March 21, 2026
Update: CIS, the IDF and West Bank Jewish Violence
Context
Since its inception, Commanders for Israel’s Security has focused on the imperative of separating from the Palestinians – whereas the current Israeli government has sharply accelerated moves toward annexation. It has done so through the unilateral transfers of authority from the PA to Israeli civilian bodies, facilitated a rapid surge in new settlements and allowed (and at times encouraged) severe violence aimed to coercively displace Palestinian communities.
CIS has led attempts to halt these trends, using tools ranging from Supreme Court petitions and extensive media activity, through meetings with political leaders, to direct engagement with military commanders, including the Commanding Officer (CO) of Central Command. You likely saw the strong letter CIS sent him last week.
IDF Response
Last week, the IDF finally responded. The Chief of Staff voiced the need to stop these attacks, and the CO of Central Command issued a public call on settlement leaders and, implicitly, IDF personnel, calling for an end to the out-of-control gang-like violence.
In his open letter, he wrote: “Alongside the security forces’ significant achievements in reducing Palestinian terror, an unthinkable phenomenon has emerged…A violent, lawless group is operating unchecked in Judea and Samaria, in violation of Israeli law and the core values of Judaism and Zionism…I call on you – public leaders, rabbis, educators, parents and youths – open your eyes. Don’t lend a hand, don’t remain silent, don’t let yourselves be enticed to this kind of action in the false name of so-called ideology…that often leads to casualties among innocent [Palestinian] bystanders.”
The CIS Follow-up
CIS welcomed the response to its letter and to the dangerous and unacceptable developments on the ground, posting, inter-alia, the following:
Commanders for Israel’s Security welcomes the decision and call of the CO of Central Command for a determined and comprehensive struggle against the unrestrained violence of Jewish rioters toward Palestinians, the army, and civilians.
CIS emphasizes that only the conversion of these statements [of CO Central Command] into action and results on the ground will prove that this is a determined and decisive effort.
We demand that the Prime Minister and the Minister of Defense support the IDF and not, as they often do, give silent approval or a ‘wink’ to the pressure exerted by the leaders and supporters of the Jewish terror groups on the Chief of Staff and CO of Central Command.
See:
JP: Ex-defense officials: IDF W. Bank chief failing to stop Jewish violence; IDF: We need gov’t help
