On the eve of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s meeting with President Donald Trump in Washington last week, Trump received a letter from Matan Vilnai, the chairman of Commanders for Israel’s Security, an organization of retired officials who served in the Israeli armed forces and intelligence agencies.

Vilnai’s impassioned letter was not about Israel’s current confrontation with Iran or Hezbollah, but about the upsurge of violence perpetrated against Palestinian Arabs by a small band of wild Jewish settlers in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

His cri de coeur arrived at the White House shortly after settlers went on yet another violent rampage and after the Israel Defence Forces and the Shin Bet internal intelligence agency released a report showing that the number of attacks by extremist Jewish settlers against Palestinians in the West Bank rose by 27 percent in 2025 compared to the previous year.

Describing his letter as an “urgent alert,” Vilnai warned Trump that “escalating violence,” unless “arrested swiftly and decisively,” carries “severe ramifications for both Israeli security and US regional interests.”

“No one but you, Mr. President, can avert this calamity,” wrote Vilnai, a former deputy chief of staff of the Israeli armed forces and a onetime ambassador to China and cabinet minister. “Consequently, we earnestly hope you will use your upcoming meeting with our prime minister to convey a firm and clear message in this regard.”

It has yet to be ascertained whether Trump even........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)