By Balikis Ajoyo
Israel has threatened to launch a “full scale war” against the Palestinian Authority if its security forces are found to be preparing an attack against Israeli troops or settlements similar to the October 7, 2023 assault by Hamas.
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz issued the warning on Monday following a stabbing attack in the northern occupied West Bank, in which the Israeli military said it shot and killed a Palestinian assailant.
Katz said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had instructed the Israel Defense Forces to prepare for a major military operation if Palestinian Authority security mechanisms were found to be planning an attack similar to the Hamas assault.
He said any such operation would target the Palestinian Authority’s senior leadership and security structures, as well as what he described as “terror infrastructure” across the West Bank.
According to Katz, the proposed campaign could include targeted killings of senior figures, the displacement of residents from areas where attacks are carried out and the establishment of a permanent Israeli military presence.
He said the strategy would mirror Israeli military operations in so-called security zones in Gaza and southern Lebanon.
The threat came after Israeli authorities reported a stabbing attack against an Israeli settler in the northern West Bank.
Israel’s Magen David Adom emergency service said a man in his 20s was taken to hospital in moderate to serious condition after sustaining multiple stab wounds.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised the soldiers who killed the alleged attacker, saying Israel would continue targeting militants and those accused of supporting them.
Netanyahu also said Israel would continue operations against what he described as terrorist infrastructure in the West Bank, which Israel refers to as Judea and Samaria.
Hamas, in response to the stabbing incident, called on Palestinians to escalate resistance against Israeli forces and settlers.
Tensions in the occupied West Bank have intensified since Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, which triggered the ongoing war in Gaza.
The conflict has also been accompanied by increased violence involving Israeli settlers and Palestinians in the West Bank.
According to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures, the October 7 attack killed 1,221 people in Israel and saw 251 people taken hostage into Gaza.
Israel subsequently launched a large scale military offensive in Gaza. Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry says at least 73,651 people have been killed in the territory since the war began, figures the United Nations considers broadly reliable.
The latest Israeli warning raises fresh concerns over the possibility of further escalation in the occupied West Bank, where tensions have remained high amid the continuing Gaza conflict.