Two former Israeli prime ministers, four former ministers, 30 former security commanders, former heads of the Mossad and Shin Bet, a former attorney general, former judges, the former head of Tel Aviv University, rabbis, former ambassadors, and experts on international terrorism, have all signed a letter threatening legal action to stop “Jewish terror” and an “ideology of ethnic cleansing” in the West Bank. The letter was sent to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the ministries of defense and national security, the military, police, and intelligence services. If the prime minister and his cabinet fail to stop the violence, the signatories will petition Israel’s high court to force action. Many of the signers have spoken out against this violence as individuals, but this letter, drafted by lawyer Shmuel Berkowitz, helps create a stronger, more united voice. The letter was not made public, but a copy was seen by London’s The Guardian.
The letter stresses that the violence in the West Bank is not a failure of the Israeli military or police, but is rather a policy goal of the Israeli prime minister and his government. The letter accused the Prime Minister and his cabinet of ordering the military, the police, and Shin Bet (Israel’s internal security force) “to enable the terrorism of Jewish criminals because this horrendous phenomenon serves well the current government’s ideology of carrying out ‘ethnic cleansing’ in the territories of Judea and Samaria to facilitate their future annexation.” The signers continue that the violent attackers include Israeli members of the regional defense units, who sometimes wear part of their uniforms, or people who are civilians, but carry weapons from the Israeli military. The letter documents years of murder, sexual assault, theft, arson, and the desecration of the dead, which is all done with “almost complete impunity.” The signatories state, “The IDF [Israel Defense Forces] has a clear policy of ignoring the crimes of Jewish terrorism, and in many incidents soldiers from the regional defense units and [settlement] security squads are themselves involved in the crimes of Jewish terrorism.”
