Katz urges IDF to ready for potential ‘Oct.7-style’ mass attack on West Bank settlements

Defense Minister Israel Katz on Wednesday called for the military to be prepared for a potential mass attack on West Bank settlements “in the style” of the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, invasion of southern Israel from Gaza.

The warning from Katz came after he visited the West Bank and met with senior commanders, including Central Command head Maj. Gen. Avi Bluth, who earlier in the day declared the Israel Defense Forces must be ready for “a surprise war.”

“The baseline scenario we must prepare for is readiness for a surprise war,” Bluth said, according to the IDF. “We are required to maintain a high level of preparedness and alertness, while using the time to strengthen our professional foundations.”

Katz and Bluth did not provide further details on what prompted their warnings about the West Bank, where Palestinian terror attacks and settler violence have soared since the Hamas attack on Israel over two years ago. Unlike the Gaza Strip, which is currently split between Israeli and Hamas control, the IDF maintains military control over the West Bank and carries out near-daily counterterrorism operations there.

In a statement following his visit, Katz praised the IDF, Border Police and other security forces for what he described as determined operations that have led to a sharp decline in terrorist activity and a significant improvement in the West Bank’s security situation.

According to Katz, operations carried out over the past year in the Jenin, Tulkarem and Nur Shams refugee camps – including evacuations, counterterrorism operations and the continued presence of IDF troops – reduced terrorist activity in the West Bank by more than 80 percent. He called for studying the model and potentially expanding it to additional camps.

He also instructed officials to advance plans to relocate IDF bases to the northern West Bank, which were evacuated as part of the US-backed 1998 Wye River Memorandum signed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Katz described the move as a “historic correction” with both security and settlement significance – remarks that come in the wake of a terror attack last week in which two Israelis were killed, and whose assailant was later identified as being from the northern West Bank town of Qabatiya.

“You must prepare to respond to a possible attack on communities in the West Bank and along the seam line, in the style of October 7, by jihadist elements,” Katz said.

Bluth’s earlier remarks came after he performed a snap inspection of military units in the West Bank, which the IDF said examined the readiness of three battalions across three brigades and two regional divisions, including the implementation of procedures, outpost defenses and the fitness of forces to operate in both routine and emergency scenarios.

The Central Command chief touted the inspections as “a vital tool” for maintaining operational readiness, allowing commanders “to identify gaps before they become root problems, learn, refine processes and continuously improve the readiness of our forces – in routine [times] and during an emergency.” According to the IDF, the findings of the inspection will be used to sharpen standards and strengthen preparedness across the Central Command, which, in addition to the West Bank, is responsible for areas of central Israel.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.