Ex-top IOF security officials urge Trump to push Netanyahu to end war
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Former IOF and Mossad leaders from Commanders for Israel’s Security urge Trump to pressure Netanyahu into ending the war on Gaza and securing the captives’ release.
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US President Donald Trump greets Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House, Monday, April 7, 2025, in Washington (AP)
Former Mossad chief Tamir Pardo, former Shin Bet chief Ami Ayalon, and former deputy IOF chief Matan Vilnai announced on Sunday that they had sent a letter to US President Donald Trump, requesting him to pressure Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to bring an end to the ongoing war on Gaza, according to The Jerusalem Post.
These top officials, along with former senior police and foreign ministry leaders, head the Commanders for Israel’s Security (CIS) group, which currently includes over 600 former high-ranking security officials, and they are collectively urging Trump to take action.
"Stop the Gaza War! On behalf of CIS, Israel’s largest group of former IOF generals and Mossad, Shin Bet, Police, and Diplomatic Corps equivalents, we urge you to end the Gaza war. You did it in Lebanon. Time to do it in Gaza as well," the letter obtained by the Jerusalem Post read.
CIS further claimed that the IOF had already completed the two militarily attainable goals of destroying Hamas' combat capabilities and removing its governing authority, while emphasizing that the most critical remaining objective, the safe return of all captives, could only be secured through diplomatic negotiations rather than continued warfare.
“It is our professional judgment that Hamas no longer poses a strategic threat to Israel, and our experience tells us that Israel has all it takes to deal with its residual terror capabilities, remotely or otherwise. Chasing remaining senior Hamas operatives can be done later. Our hostages can’t wait," the letter continued.
They stated that Trump's strong credibility among most Israelis enhanced his capacity to influence Prime Minister Netanyahu and his government toward making crucial decisions: ending the war, securing the captives' release, alleviating civilian suffering, and establishing a broad regional and international alliance to support a reformed Palestinian Authority in providing Palestinians in Gaza and elsewhere a viable alternative to Hamas.
CIS also said that "Israel" must announce an end to the war in exchange for the release of the Israeli captives, an offer Hamas consistently made throughout the war on Gaza. Additionally, the senior security officials said that the entity should accept the proposed framework of Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE working alongside a reformed Palestinian Authority to rebuild and govern Gaza.
They hoped that Trump could sway Netanyahu to take Hamas' offers, although the Israeli PM has repeatedly rejected them out of fear that Hamas could rebuild its capabilities, not to mention the fear of losing his coalition, which put him in power in the first place.
