West Bankupdated 1h ago2 min read
Netanyahu Says Israel Prepares for Palestinian Authority Weapons Attack in West Bank
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Israel preparing for PA-directed weapons attack in the West Bank. IDF will remain and control camps in the northern West Bank.
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Preparing for a PA scenario
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his government is preparing for a scenario in which the Palestinian Authority directs its weapons against Israel in the West Bank, and he said the Israeli army is the only party that will remain and control the camps in the northern West Bank. Netanyahu warned that Israel would respond to any attack by Palestinian Authority forces with “a level of force you have never imagined,” during a visit to the West Bank alongside Defense Minister Yisrael Katz and senior security officials.
Netanyahu also pledged not to allow residents of the Tulkarm refugee camp, displaced following the “Iron Wall” operation launched by Israel earlier this year, to return there after Israel’s Supreme Court issued an order setting a timetable for their return. Netanyahu described the camp as a “stronghold of terrorism,” praising the Israeli army’s work on “purge it based on our directives,” and he said, “I heard someone in the High Court of Justice say that a way must be found to bring the residents back here.”
Katz threatens “total war”
Defense Minister Yisrael Katz confirmed readiness for a scenario in which security forces affiliated with the Palestinian Authority direct their weapons against settlers and the Israeli army in the West Bank and along its borders. Katz threatened that in such a case, war would be declared on the Palestinian Authority, and the Israeli army would launch a comprehensive assault according to a detailed plan developed with Netanyahu and approved by them.
Katz said the campaign against the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank would be “short and intense,” and he described it as involving the use of ground and air forces and “the elimination of senior officials.” Katz also criticized Israel’s Supreme Court decision and announced his insistence on keeping Israeli army forces in the camps for a long time, even if it required enacting special legislation in the Knesset.
Control, settlements, and elections
Netanyahu said he was at the frontline near the former Tulkarm refugee camp and he told his audience, “The party that will control this area and stay in it is the Israel Defense Forces.”
“We maintain control from the Jordan River to the sea. This is our state, and this is our dominance.”
Netanyahu warned that “Our enemies are thinking of testing us during these days, with the elections approaching,” and he said he was ready for “what is called a coup d’état” involving directing the Palestinian Authority’s weapons at Israel.
Netanyahu said Israel will maintain control from the Jordan River to the sea, and he added, “We maintain control from the Jordan River to the sea. This is our state, and this is our dominance.”
Netanyahu said his government is establishing settlements numbering more than 104 along with numerous agricultural outposts, and he said, “We will continue to maintain Israel’s security here, on the frontline, and everywhere.”