The admission shows the defense establishment takes the internal Arab threat seriously and no less than the external one.
By Hezy Laing
Defense Minister Israel Katz told ministers on October 6 that the Israel Defense Forces has been ordered to prepare for the possibility of war with Palestinian Authority (PA) security forces, amid concerns that an armed confrontation could erupt in Judea and Samaria.
Katz described a scenario in which jihadist groups attack Jewish communities and IDF troops, with PA security personnel and the Fatah-affiliated Tanzim organization potentially joining the fighting.
The possibility is particularly significant because the Palestinian Authority maintains a security apparatus that has historically coordinated with Israel on certain security matters.
If members of those forces turned their weapons against Israeli troops, the military could face a very different challenge from its ongoing operations against individual terrorist cells and smaller armed groups.
Katz said Israel’s preparations drew on lessons from the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led massacre, when terrorists breached Israel’s defenses along the Gaza border and attacked civilian communities and military positions.
He outlined a potential Israeli response involving ground troops, airpower and specialized military capabilities.
According to Katz, a campaign could target senior figures, destroy weapons and terrorist infrastructure, and involve large-scale evacuations from cities and refugee camps. He referred to Israeli operations in Gaza and Lebanon as models for the possible response.
His remarks described contingency planning rather than an announcement that Israel had decided to launch a military campaign against the Palestinian Authority.
The distinction is important because the scenario could develop in different ways, ranging from individual security personnel joining armed groups to a broader breakdown of security cooperation. These possibilities would carry different implications for Israel and the PA leadership.
The potential consequences extend beyond the immediate area of confrontation. Judea and Samaria lies close to Jerusalem and Israel’s densely populated central communities, making any major escalation there a significant security concern.
IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir had already warned ministers in August that Palestinian security forces could turn their weapons against Israeli troops.
Zamir also revealed that the military’s Judea and Samaria Division had trained for that possibility, indicating that preparations for such a contingency predated Katz’s October announcement.
The prospect of an armed confrontation involving PA forces would present Israel with a fundamentally different challenge from operations against isolated terrorist cells, particularly given the existing security relationship between the two sides.
