A group of Israel Defense Forces reserve combat soldiers has published a petition titled Reservists’ Letter Against Jewish Terrorism, directing sharp criticism at senior military commanders. The signatories accuse the military leadership of failing to provide troops with the proper authority and tools required to prevent repeated incidents of nationalist violence in the West Bank.
IDF Reservists Petition Military Leadership Over West Bank Extremism
According to the petition, reservists who have served hundreds of days since October 7 feel abandoned in the field. The soldiers state they are repeatedly dispatched to separate Israelis and Palestinians in friction incidents without a genuine mandate to stop the violence beforehand. Maj. (res.) Aviad Hominer-Rosenblum, an organizer of the petition who has completed 270 days of reserve duty, stated that soldiers are forced to risk their lives due to a rise in Jewish terrorism and deliberate friction created by agitators, noting that their names are stained because the military cannot confront the events.
Fellow signatory Maj. (res.) Tom Pinhasi added that armed groups operate almost without interference, forcing the Ynetnews into a position of protecting the actions of a fanatical minority instead of enforcing the law. The release of the petition coincided with volatile conditions in the village of Qusra, where extremist settlers gathered and Palestinians reported that three families had effectively been placed under siege.
Surge in West Bank Violence and Security Data
The internal military discontent unfolds against a backdrop of rising nationalist crimes in the territory. Data recorded by the Israel Defense Forces and Shin Bet security agency revealed that attacks by extremist Jewish settlers against Palestinians and Israeli security forces in the West Bank rose by 27 percent in 2025 compared to the previous year.
Furthermore, severe incidents of nationalistic crime classified by Israeli security bodies as terrorism increased by over 50 percent according to the same data. While these attacks occur on a near-daily basis, critics and researchers point to a severe lack of accountability. Reem Cohen, a researcher at the Tel Aviv-based Institute for National Security Studies (INSS), noted that acts of Jewish terrorism have evolved from marginal local incidents into a widespread phenomenon aimed at uprooting the Palestinian presence.
Political Context and Government Response
Critics have directed significant blame at Israel’s current governing coalition, described as the most hardline in the country’s history. Opponents argue that certain government members orchestrate chaos and shield armed followers from the law. Among early policy shifts, Defense Minister Israel Katz cancelled administrative detention for Israeli suspects of violent crimes in the West Bank upon assuming office in 2024, while maintaining the practice for Palestinians.
Military and political figures have increasingly spoken out against the trend. IDF military chief Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir described settler attacks as morally and ethically unacceptable. Additionally, Commanders for Israel’s Security—an association comprising 550 retired senior officers, generals, and high-ranking security officials—published an open letter urging Zamir to confront the strategic danger posed by Jewish terrorism, while opposition leader Yair Lapid called on the government to fight the phenomenon by all means.
Keep reading