President Donald J. Trump
The White House
Washington, D.C.
USA
Red Alert: Escalating West Bank violence endangers Israeli security, U.S. interests, and regional stability
Dear Mr. President,
Having dedicated our lives to Israel’s security and to its central pillar – the special U.S.-Israel relationship – we approach you with this urgent alert:
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.
It is our professional judgment that no one but you, Mr. President, can avert this calamity. Consequently, we earnestly hope you will use your upcoming meeting with our Prime Minister to convey a firm and clear message in this regard.
Whereas our security agencies excel in dealing with Hamas and other West Bank Palestinian terror groups, they are severely constrained when it comes to Jewish terrorists.
It is no secret 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. As a result, our successors at the helm of Israel’s security services face an impossible dilemma: follow their professional judgment and duty, which demand determined law enforcement, or adhere to the directives of political leadership, as is required in a democracy.
Mr. President,
Should the rising swell in Jewish settler terror activity and the government policy of choking the Palestinian Authority (financially and otherwise) continue, the consequences may prove even more catastrophic than the October 7 Hamas atrocities and its multi-front fallout. This trajectory threatens to devastate Israeli security, undermine U.S. interests, and shatter regional stability. It will 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.
The trend is clear and the evidence is in plain sight. Let us not be blindsided again.
Most sincerely,
Maj. Gen. (Ret.) Matan Vilnai
Former IDF Deputy Chief of Staff
Former Minister of Home Front Security
CIS Chair
