PM’s reported claim that IDF preparing for warfare with PA could prove self-fulfilling prophecy, Palestinian official tells ToI

A Palestinian Authority official tells The Times of Israel that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s reported claim earlier this week that Israel is preparing for the possibility of warfare with the PA security forces sparked alarm in Ramallah.

Selected quotes from closed-door testimony Netanyahu gave before the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs on Monday were leaked to the Kan public broadcaster. They revealed that Netanyahu was asked whether Israel is prepared for a scenario in which the PA security forces cease working to quash Hamas and other terror elements in the West Bank and instead direct their weapons at Israel.

Netanyahu reportedly responded by saying that Israel is aware of this potential scenario and has already been preparing for it.

“We want to reach a situation where if such an event unfolds that within a few minutes, there will be IDF helicopters in the air ready to respond,” Kan quoted Netanyahu as having told the lawmakers.

The PA official says the reported comments were quickly picked up in Ramallah and he took particular issue both with Netanyahu’s message as well as what he said was his decision to leak them to the press.

The PA official, speaking on condition of anonymity, warns that such messaging from Jerusalem could further weaken the morale of PA security troops and even risks becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy.

PA security officers and other employees have already been enduring long periods where they haven’t been paid in full or at all as Ramallah faces an ever-intensifying economic crisis.