Israel warns of 'full-scale war' if Palestinian Authority launches Oct. 7-style attack

Israel on Monday threatened a "full-scale war" against the Palestinian Authority if it prepared an attack against Israeli forces or settlements similar to the one launched by Hamas from Gaza on October 7, 2023. The unusual warning, denounced by Palestinian authorities as an attempt to fuel the conflict during the Israeli election season, comes as violence surges in the occupied territory. The remarks from Defence Minister Israel Katz followed a stabbing attack that wounded an Israeli settler in the northern West Bank, with the military saying it had shot and killed the Palestinian assailant. Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967. Recent months have seen soaring attacks by Israeli settlers against Palestinians, often with little or no legal consequence. "If... the Palestinian Authority's security mechanisms and related bodies initiate, or we know with certainty that they are about to initiate, a terror attack in the style of October 7 against IDF forces and Jewish settlements – Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and I have instructed the IDF to prepare for the opening of a full-scale war," Defence Minister Israel Katz said. Watch more Netanyahu condemns violence in West Bank Katz added in a statement from his office that the military campaign would target the "senior leadership and mechanisms" of the Palestinian Authority, which is based in the West Bank city of Ramallah, as well as "all terror infrastructure" in the territory. He said it would include "targeted killings of senior figures" and the "evacuation of residents from the cities and villages from which terror activity is carried out", with a permanent Israeli military presence in those areas. Katz said the operation would emulate the so-called "security zones" in which the Israeli military currently operates in Gaza and southern Lebanon. 'Remove threats from Hezbollah' Israel's military in a separate statement issued on Monday said that it would continue to "remove threats" from Hezbollah following air strikes in south Lebanon overnight, which killed 12 people including two children. The Israeli military said it had struck Hezbollah "infrastructure sites" across southern Lebanon in response to the launch of two explosive drones towards its troops, as well as "several terrorists" it said were transferring weapons. In a separate statement, it said it killed a Hezbollah member in the area of the Beaufort fortress who opened fire on its troops from inside a building, and that "during the close-quarters encounter, two IDF soldiers were lightly injured". The militant was later "eliminated", the military said. Read more Middle East live: Several killed in Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon Eleven of the victims in the overnight strikes died in one attack on a building in Kfar Rumman, the Lebanese health ministry said. Lebanese President Joseph Aoun on Sunday urged Washington and the international community to help stop Israeli attacks ahead of another round of Lebanese-Israeli talks expected to take place this month. 'Aggressive and racist' Responding on Monday, Rawhi Fattouh, president of the Palestinian National Council, the West Bank-based legislative body, said that Katz's statement exposed the "aggressive and racist nature of the Israeli government". The comments "confirm that it is not seeking a partner for peace, but rather a permanent fuel for conflict and the spread of chaos and instability", he said, according to the Palestinian official news agency Wafa. The Palestinian Authority does not officially take part in militant activity and its security forces have worked to crack down on local militancy in the West Bank. There was no indication that Monday's attack was carried out with the consent or knowledge of the Palestinian Authority. Soaring violence Following a manhunt on Monday, the Israeli military said it shot and killed a Palestinian assailant who had stabbed an Israeli settler in the northern occupied West Bank. Israel's Magen David Adom emergency services said the stabbing victim had been taken to hospital in a moderate to serious condition. The civil affairs authority identified the Palestinian assailant as 34-year-old Mahmoud Mohammed Arabi Mohsen. His uncle, Nizar Arabi Mohsen, said he had been "suffering from a mental illness" for around four years. Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas called to "escalate the resistance and engage with the enemy soldiers and settler gangs". Earlier on Monday, the Palestinian health ministry said a man was killed during a settler attack in the village of Hajja, in the northern West Bank. The Israeli military said troops had been dispatched to the area "following a report of friction" between Palestinians and settlers. It said Palestinians had thrown stones at soldiers, who "carried out arrest procedures, including firing warning shots into the air, followed by fire toward key instigators". "Hits were identified," it said, adding that the incident was under review. Violence in the West Bank has surged since Hamas's October 2023 attack on Israel sparked the war in Gaza. According to an AFP tally based on data from the Palestinian health ministry, Israeli forces or settlers have killed at least 1,106 Palestinians in the West Bank, including both militants and civilians, since the start of the Gaza war. Israeli figures show at least 48 Israelis, including civilians and security personnel, have been killed in Palestinian attacks or during Israeli military operations during the same period. (FRANCE 24 with AFP)