Defence Minister Israel Katz said Israel’s military has been ordered to prepare for an “all-out war” against the Palestinian Authority if it deems that the internationally backed organisation is “about to launch an October 7-style terrorist attack against [Israeli soldiers] and Jewish settlements”.
Mr Katz said that such a war could target “senior officials and apparatuses of the authority and the bodies associated with it”. He said it could lead to the displacement of entire cities in the occupied West Bank, “just as we did” in Gaza and southern Lebanon, where the military has razed vast areas, forcing out residents.
Mr Katz’s threat against the PA is an escalation of the ultranationalist Israeli government’s rhetoric against the body. Under the Oslo Accords, the PA is supposed to control parts of the West Bank until a Palestinian state is established. Despite Israelis frequently accusing the organisation of celebrating militancy, Israel and the PA have maintained close security co-operation for years, alongside close engagement with Israel’s most important allies.
The threat underlines how weak the PA has become in recent years. It is suffering from an economic and legitimacy crisis, with many Palestinians saying it is inept, corrupt and serves only Israeli interests. Many consider it to have lost control of large parts of the area it is supposed to govern, particularly in the north of the West Bank.
Mr Katz’s threat came after a Palestinian stabbed an Israeli at a farming outpost in the West Bank on Monday morning. Israel’s military shot dead the attacker soon afterwards. The victim is in a “moderate-to-serious condition”, according to Israeli medics.
The Defence Minister said after the attack that Israel’s policy in the West Bank was “to vigorously pursue Palestinian terrorism, develop and strengthen Jewish settlement and maintain security stability”.
The pledge to advance the settlement project comes despite growing unease from Israel's allies about the wave of settler violence and expansion in the territory. The UK is reportedly planning to announce new sanctions against Israel on Tuesday. US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee called for “severe consequences” for violent settlers during a visit to the West Bank at the weekend, following assaults that attracted global media coverage.
