Israeli former leaders and security chiefs threaten legal action over ‘Jewish terrorism’

Dozens of Israelis from the country’s security, political and cultural elite have threatened legal action against their government over support for Jewish terrorism and an “ideology of ethnic cleansing” in the occupied West Bank , according to a leaked letter. Two former prime ministers, former heads of all the Israeli security services, former judges, a Nobel laureate and the country’s most revered living novelist were among the signatories to a “final warning” over violence against Palestinians. They demanded immediate action to “eradicate Jewish terrorism”, cataloguing years of attacks – including murder , sexual assault , theft, arson and desecration of the dead – by civilian and military perpetrators who acted with “almost complete impunity”. The campaign of extreme violence against Palestinians broke Israeli and international law, put Israel’s security at risk, isolated the country internationally and fuelled antisemitism around the world, they said. “This letter is a wake-up call and a final warning: We demand that you take all necessary measures to immediately eradicate Jewish terrorism that has been prevalent in Judea and Samaria in recent years,” the letter said, using an Israeli term for the occupied West Bank . If the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and his defence and security ministers and security commanders do not condemn and stop the violence, the signatories say they will petition Israel’s high court to force their hand. …