IDF officers tell Trump: 'Settler violence' claims ignore West Bank terrorism -exclusive

A group of retired Israeli military officers sent a letter to US President Donald Trump rejecting allegations of widespread settler violence in the West Bank, accusing international organizations and Israeli rights groups of inflating reports to undermine Jewish communities. The letter, from the Israel Defense and Security Forum (IDSF), responds to an earlier appeal from Commanders for Israel's Security (CIS) that warned Trump about Jewish extremist violence threatening security and diplomatic progress. IDSF argues that the term 'settler violence' is a political campaign smearing all West Bank Jews, and claims over half of complaints from activist organizations are deliberately false, though no supporting documentation is provided.

A group representing thousands of retired Israeli military officers and security professionals sent US President Donald Trump a letter rejecting allegations of widespread violence by Israeli settlers in the West Bank. The letter, obtained by The Jerusalem Post, was sent by Israel's Defense and Security Forum (IDSF) in response to an appeal from Commanders for Israel's Security (CIS), a separate organization representing hundreds of former senior officials from the IDF, Mossad, Shin Bet, Israel Police and diplomatic establishment. The earlier letter warned Trump that violence by Jewish extremists in the West Bank threatened Israel's security, US regional interests and prospects for diplomatic progress. IDSF chairman Brig.-Gen. (res.) Erez Winner rejected that assessment, accusing CIS of presenting a distorted picture of violence involving Israeli residents of the West Bank. The IDSF letter said the organization condemned violence and lawbreaking by Israelis or Palestinians and supported firm police action against offenders. At the same time, IDSF argued that the phrase 'settler violence' had been turned into a political campaign aimed at portraying more than half a million Israeli residents of the West Bank as collectively responsible for the actions of a small extremist fringe. The organization accused international bodies and Israeli human-rights groups of inflating statistics by classifying incidents as violence even when they involved routine security procedures or nonviolent civilian activity. According to the letter, incidents recorded in international databases included Israeli security checks, Jewish visits to the Temple Mount in Jerusalem and hikes or tours in disputed areas that contained 'no element of violence.' IDSF also claimed that more than half of complaints submitted by activist organizations in areas of Israeli-Palestinian friction were later determined to be deliberately false. The letter did not include police records, the relevant UN database or other documentation supporting that figure. The organization cited a February 2026 fire at a Palestinian-owned sheep pen as an example of an incident initially blamed on Israeli settlers. IDSF said a police investigation later concluded that the blaze had been caused by an illegal electrical connection installed by the Palestinian owner. IDSF named Yesh Din, B'Tselem and Breaking the Silence among the organizations it accused of promoting the narrative, saying they received tens of millions of shekels from European governments and the United Nations. The letter alleged that those organizations sought to weaken the legitimacy of Jewish communities in the West Bank and advance their eventual evacuation as part of a territorial withdrawal. The dispute also reflected a deeper ideological division among retired members of Israel's security establishment. IDSF accused the CIS leadership of supporting a 'peace through surrender' approach based on Israeli territorial concessions and withdrawals. It pointed to support among some former security officials for the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement and Israel's 2005 withdrawal from the Gaza Strip. IDSF argued that the same former officials who supported the withdrawal were now using isolated incidents of Israeli violence to promote a similar policy in the West Bank. The exchange came amid heightened tensions in the West Bank, where Israeli security forces have faced a combination of Palestinian terrorist attacks, settler violence and repeated confrontations between Israeli and Palestinian civilians. A mosque in the Palestinian village of Kusra was set on fire Sunday in a suspected nationalist attack. Hebrew graffiti referring to revenge for an Israeli victim of Palestinian terrorism was found at the scene. IDSF maintained that the focus on settler violence diverted attention from the larger threat posed by Palestinian terrorist organizations and Iranian attempts to expand their influence in the West Bank. 'Mr. President, you have always known how to identify the truth from alternative facts,' Winner wrote. 'We call on you to continue to stand alongside truth, justice, and the steadfast alliance between the United States and Israel.'