Katz: IDF Told to Prepare 'All-Out War' on PA Officials if West Bank October 7-Style Attack Looms

Defense Minister Israel Katz said Monday, September 7, 2026 that if Israel determines the Palestinian Authority's security apparatus is launching, or about to launch, 'an October 7-style terrorist attack' from the West Bank, he and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have instructed the IDF to prepare an 'all-out war' against senior PA officials — including targeting PA leadership, evacuating residents from attack-origin areas, destroying terrorist infrastructure, and maintaining an open-ended IDF presence. Katz said Israel 'will not permit a repeat of the intifada cycle.' The statement followed a stabbing attack at Maoz Yehuda Farm near Kusra that wounded one person, and came alongside IDF readiness exercises (including 'Dawn 2.0') testing multi-front preparedness for an October 7-style scenario. The same day, a joint poll by the Jerusalem Center for Foreign Affairs and Security (JCFA) and Lazar Research — surveying 703 respondents September 2-4, 2026 — found 77% of all Israelis, including 86% of Jewish Israelis, fear a potential October 7-style attack originating from the West Bank; the same poll found 67% of all Israelis (75% of Jewish Israelis) oppose establishing a Palestinian state along 1967 borders.