Increased threat: Katz threatens war against PA as Netanyahu warns of Hamas election attacks

Defense Minister Israel Katz warned Tuesday that Israel would launch a comprehensive military offensive against the Palestinian Authority if its security forces or affiliated Tanzim groups attacked Israeli settlers and soldiers, while separately ordering heightened military readiness in Gaza ahead of the third anniversary of the October 7 massacre.

Addressing a government meeting, Katz said the military was preparing for the possibility that PA security personnel and affiliated groups would turn their weapons against Israelis in the West Bank and communities along its boundary.

“The IDF is preparing for a scenario in which there would be a reversal of allegiance by the Palestinian Authority’s security apparatus and the Tanzim organizations affiliated with it, against the settlers and IDF forces in Judea and Samaria and in the seamline communities,” Katz said.

He said such an attack would trigger war against the PA under a contingency plan approved by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and himself.

“In such a case, war will be declared against the Palestinian Authority and the IDF will launch a comprehensive attack in accordance with an organized plan that has been formulated and approved by Prime Minister Netanyahu and myself,” he said.

Katz described a planned campaign involving ground and air forces, unspecified special capabilities, targeted killings and the removal of senior figures, destruction of weapons and military equipment, and extensive evacuations of residents.

He said the military would destroy what he described as terror infrastructure in cities and refugee camps throughout the West Bank, following the model of Israel’s campaigns in Gaza and Lebanon. Those operations would take place alongside reinforcements and measures to defend Israeli communities.

“There will not be an intifada lasting years as in the past, but rather a short and powerful war with a clear victory and a change in reality,” Katz said.

The minister also said the military’s planning included the possibility of attacks by jihadist groups against settlers and soldiers, drawing lessons from the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led assault on southern Israel.

Katz said Israeli forces were conducting intensive operations against militant strongholds, including evacuations of refugee camps in the northern West Bank. He claimed terrorism had fallen to its lowest level in decades, although significant challenges remained.

Separately, Katz ordered the military to raise its alert level in Gaza and prepare for all scenarios after receiving information indicating that Hamas intended to attack Israeli forces deployed in the territory.

He instructed the military to prepare for worst-case scenarios, respond forcefully to threats and continue its intensive operations.

“If, God forbid, our forces are hit, Hamas and the population of Gaza will pay a very heavy price, without comparison,” Katz warned.

The announcement followed a security cabinet meeting a day earlier at which Shin Bet director David Zini reportedly warned that Hamas was particularly seeking to abduct Israeli soldiers.

Speaking at the start of Tuesday’s cabinet meeting, Netanyahu commemorated those killed in the October 7 massacre and Israeli soldiers who had fallen in the subsequent war, which he called the “War of Revival.”

“On the eve of October 7, we remember with grief and pain our heroes who fell in the War of Revival, and our brothers and sisters who fell in the terrible massacre in the Gaza envelope,” he said.

Netanyahu recalled the women, men, children and babies murdered in the attack. He claimed Israel had killed 4,000 of the 6,000 attackers he referred to as “monsters” over the past three years and vowed to pursue the remainder.

“None of them have immunity. We will reach every one of them, and Hamas’s rule in Gaza will be eradicated,” he said.

The prime minister argued that the war had transformed Israel’s strategic position, describing Israel as the strongest country in the Middle East and its enemies as weaker than ever.

He also pointed to reconstruction in communities near Gaza, saying 90 percent of residents had returned home and that additional residents were moving into the area. He described extensive construction and rehabilitation in cities, kibbutzim and moshavim, with young couples arriving to build new lives.

“This is the victory of spirit over evil, the victory of Israel over its enemies,” Netanyahu said, adding that a similar recovery was taking place in northern Israel.

Netanyahu nevertheless warned that Hamas could use its remaining military capabilities to attempt to influence Israeli elections.

“Precisely because Hamas is so weak, it will try to challenge us with what remains of its strength ahead of the elections to try to influence them,” he said.

“We are prepared for this; first and foremost, we will foil such attempts, and in any event, we will respond with immense force if they make this mistake.”

He concluded with a warning to Israel’s adversaries, invoking military operations across seven fronts.

“I say to all our enemies: Look at what we did to you across seven fronts in the War of Revival. Don’t mess with us.”

Yashar party leader and former military chief Gadi Eisenkot criticized the government’s warnings, arguing that Hamas’s continuing ability to threaten Israel three years after October 7 reflected a failure of government policy.

He described the situation as “an indictment of the government of October 7.”

“Three years after October 7th, Hamas still holds power in the Gaza Strip and its terrorists still pose a threat to Israeli citizens,” Eisenkot said.