Israel Katz threatens ‘all-out war’ if Palestinian Authority forces prepare major attack

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said Israel has instructed its military to prepare for an “all-out war” against the Palestinian Authority if PA security forces launch, or are found to be preparing, a large-scale attack against Israeli forces or settlements in the occupied West Bank.

Katz made the remarks on Monday following a stabbing attack in the northern West Bank in which one person was injured. The Israeli military said the Palestinian assailant was subsequently killed.

“If there is a shift in direction, and the Palestinian Authority’s security services and affiliated bodies begin launching a terror attack — like the 7^th October attack — against IDF forces and Jewish settlements, or if we obtain definitive confirmation that they are on the verge of carrying out such an attack, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and I have directed the IDF to prepare for an all-out war,” Katz said in a statement.

According to the defence minister, such an operation would target the Palestinian Authority’s senior leadership, security services and affiliated bodies, many of which are based in Ramallah.

Katz did not provide evidence in the statement that the Palestinian Authority or its security forces were currently preparing an attack comparable to the Hamas-led assault on southern Israel on 7^th October 2023.

Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967. Violence by Israeli settlers against Palestinians has increased, drawing criticism over what rights organisations and international bodies have described as inadequate accountability for perpetrators.