Defense Minister Yisrael Katz said Tuesday that the IDF is preparing on an unprecedented scale for a scenario in which Palestinian Authority security forces turn their weapons against Israelis and IDF troops in Yehuda and Shomron, warning that such an attack would trigger a full-scale military campaign.

The issue was raised during a Cabinet meeting marking three years since the October 7 massacre, as several ministers pressed Katz about the security threat in Yehuda and Shomron and the possibility of another October 7-style attack.

The discussion began when Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu raised concerns about the Palestinian Authority’s forces.

“I live near Yericho. We see the PA training and hear what senior officials there are saying about turning their guns on us,” Eliyahu said. “What are we waiting for? For them to do what Hamas did — what they are preparing to do?!”

Deputy Minister Almog Cohen also raised concerns about the large number of weapons in the Bedouin community.

“It’s not only the Palestinian Authority. There are weapons among the Bedouins that will be turned against us. What is Minister Ben Gvir doing?” Cohen asked.

Economy Minister Nir Barkat compared the concerns in Yehuda and Shomron to the security failures that preceded the October 7 massacre.

“Are we going to wait for an October 7 in Yehuda and Shomron as well, chalila, or will we be sophisticated and act like we did with the pagers?” Barkat asked.

Katz responded that the IDF is preparing more extensively than ever for the possibility of PA forces turning their weapons against Israel, chalila.

“The IDF is preparing as never before for the possibility of guns being turned against us,” Katz said. “If anyone dares to turn their weapons against us, what we did in Gaza and Lebanon will come to Yehuda and Shomron. We will not deal with it using tweezers, but with a full-scale campaign.”

“The reference scenario established for the IDF regarding Yehuda and Shomron determines that preparations must be made for the possibility of an attack by jihadist elements against settlers and IDF soldiers, as a lesson from the October 7 events in Gaza,” Katz said.

“The IDF is conducting intensive operations against terrorist strongholds in the area, including the evacuation of refugee camps in northern Shomron, and terrorism has fallen to its lowest level in decades, although many challenges remain.”

Katz said the IDF is simultaneously preparing for a scenario in which PA security forces and Tanzim organizations affiliated with the Palestinian Authority turn their guns against settlers and IDF forces in Yehuda and Shomron and Israeli communities along the seam line.

“In such a case, war will be declared against the Palestinian Authority, and the IDF will launch a comprehensive offensive in accordance with an organized plan that was formulated and approved by Prime Minister Netanyahu and by me, based on the principles laid out for the IDF,” Katz said.

“The campaign will be short and powerful and will include the use of ground and air forces and special capabilities, the targeted killing and expulsion of senior officials, the destruction of weapons and military equipment, the large-scale evacuation of residents and the destruction of terrorist infrastructure inside cities and throughout the refugee camps in Yehuda and Shomron — based on the Gaza and Lebanon model — alongside the reinforcement of forces and protection of Israeli communities.

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

(YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)