Israel on Monday threatened to launch a “full-scale war” against the Palestinian Authority (PA) if its security forces or affiliated bodies were found to be preparing an attack against Israeli troops or Jewish settlements similar to the Hamas-led assault of October 7, 2023.
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz issued the warning as violence continues to escalate across the occupied West Bank. Palestinian authorities condemned the remarks, accusing Israel of attempting to further inflame tensions during the Israeli election season.
Katz’s statement followed a stabbing attack in the northern West Bank that wounded an Israeli settler. The Israeli military said its forces shot and killed the Palestinian attacker.
“If the Palestinian Authority’s security mechanisms and related bodies initiate, or we know with certainty that they are about to initiate, a terror attack in the style of October 7 against IDF forces and Jewish settlements, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and I have instructed the IDF to prepare for the opening of a full-scale war,” Katz said in a statement issued by his office.
He said any military campaign would target the “senior leadership and mechanisms” of the Palestinian Authority, which is based in the West Bank city of Ramallah, along with what he described as “all terror infrastructure” in the territory.
According to Katz, the operation could include “targeted killings of senior figures” and the “evacuation of residents from the cities and villages from which terror activity is carried out”. He also said Israeli forces would maintain a permanent military presence in those areas.
Katz said the proposed operation would mirror the so-called “security zones” where Israeli forces currently operate in Gaza and southern Lebanon.
The Palestinian National Council, the West Bank-based legislative body, strongly rejected Katz’s remarks.
Council President Rawhi Fattouh said the statement demonstrated what he described as the “aggressive and racist nature of the Israeli government”.
The comments showed that Israel was “not seeking a partner for peace, but rather a permanent fuel for conflict and the spread of chaos and instability,” Fattouh said, according to the Palestinian official news agency Wafa.
The Palestinian Authority does not officially participate in militant activity, and its security forces have carried out operations aimed at suppressing local armed groups in the West Bank.
There was no indication that Monday’s stabbing attack was carried out with the consent or knowledge of the Palestinian Authority.
