Nearly 600 former senior Israeli officials from the defence, security and diplomatic fields have urged US President Donald Trump to intervene directly to stop illegal Jewish settlement expansion and settler violence in the occupied Palestinian territory. In a letter reported on July 28, 2026, the signatories issued a strong warning and criticised the Israeli government’s policies on new settlements and land seizures.

The former officials said failure to act against settler violence would pose a major threat to Israel’s own security. They also argued that such violence could damage efforts to expand Trump’s Abraham Accords, an initiative aimed at normalising Israel’s diplomatic relations with Arab countries while avoiding the Palestinian issue.

Diplomatic analysts cited in the report said the former military figures were seeking to influence the White House and restrain the dangerous deterioration in the West Bank. The move also echoed internal warnings within Israel’s defence establishment. Part of the military had previously warned that settlers were exceeding limits by taking on the army’s role directly and operating in the Israeli army’s name, putting ordinary Israeli soldiers working on the ground at serious risk.