Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel is preparing for a scenario in which the Palestinian Authority turns its weapons against Israel in the West Bank, in remarks that place the possibility of a direct confrontation with the Authority among the scenarios for which Israel is preparing.
Military orders to prepare for a confrontation with the Authority
Netanyahu's remarks coincided with the Israeli military receiving orders to prepare for a war scenario with the Palestinian Authority. The preparations referred to concern the West Bank, according to the information reported about the remarks and the orders issued to the military. Netanyahu presented the confrontation as a possible scenario for which Israel is preparing, rather than as an ongoing war.
He was also quoted as discussing the possibility of the Palestinian Authority using its weapons against Israel, while the military orders concerned preparations for the possibility that this scenario could turn into a confrontation.
The published information points to two simultaneous tracks: a political statement by Netanyahu about the possibility Israel is taking into account, and military action in the form of orders issued to the military to prepare for a possible war with the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank.
