Large majority of Israelis fear an October 7-style attack from the West Bank, poll finds

The prospect of an October 7-style attack from the West Bank worries 77% of Israelis, according to a poll released by the Jerusalem Center for Foreign Affairs and Security. Among Jewish Israelis, the figure rises to 86%.

The survey also found that 67% of all Israelis and 75% of Jewish Israelis oppose establishing a Palestinian state along the 1967 lines. The findings came as Defense Minister Israel Katz said the Israel Defense Forces had been instructed to prepare for an “October-7 style” attack by Palestinian Authority security bodies.

“If the security apparatuses of the Palestinian Authority and the bodies associated with them launch, or we know for certain that they are about to launch, an October 7-style terrorist attack against forces and Jewish settlements, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and I instructed the IDF to prepare to launch an all-out war against senior officials and mechanisms of the [Palestinian] Authority, the bodies associated with them, and against all terrorist infrastructure in Judea and Samaria,” Katz said. He added that the aim would be to bring about their complete defeat quickly.

The poll followed a July 15 warning from the JCFA about “turning the guns.” A study by Lt. Col. (res.) Maurice Hirsch said Palestinian Authority security forces had expanded to about 70,000 personnel, 133% above the number permitted under the Oslo Accords. In the West Bank, the study said, more than 50,000 armed personnel exceeded the permitted level by about 400%, with weapons including rocket-propelled grenades and shoulder-launched missiles.

The study identified four possible routes, each about 22 kilometers long, through which forces could reach Israeli civilians relatively quickly. JCFA and Lazar Research conducted the poll among 703 respondents between September 2 and 4.

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If the security apparatuses of the Palestinian Authority and the bodies associated with them launch, or we know for certain that they are about to launch, an October 7-style terrorist attack against forces and Jewish settlements, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and I instructed the IDF to prepare to launch an all-out war against senior officials and mechanisms of the [Palestinian] Authority, the bodies associated with them, and against all terrorist infrastructure in Judea and Samaria.