The Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, stated this Tuesday that, sooner or later, the Israel Defense Forces will impose their absolute dominance over the entire northern half of the West Bank, after a visit to the so-called "seam zone," where the main Israeli settlements are concentrated within Palestinian territory.
During his speech, delivered a short distance from what remains of the Tulkarem refugee camp, forcibly evacuated last year by the Army after what was presented as the culmination of an "anti-terrorist operation" against "cells associated with Hamas," Netanyahu defended the military action in the area once again.
The Israeli leader described the camp as a "bastion of terrorism," now "cleared by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), who did an excellent job," and assured that no Palestinian will be able to return to their homes in that place, regardless of what the Israeli Supreme Court may rule.
"I have heard that there is someone in the Supreme Court saying that the residents should be allowed to return to this place. These are not residents; they are terrorists," Netanyahu stated, before reiterating that "those who will control this territory will be the IDF" and that "there will be no Arab army west of the Jordan River," the geographical line that marks the eastern limit of the West Bank up to the Dead Sea.
Furthermore, the Prime Minister warned about the possibility of what he described as a "turn of the arms": the eventual order from the Palestinian Authority, the governing body in the West Bank, to its security forces to attack Israel, something he considers remotely possible but does not rule out, despite the long history of cooperation between both parties.
"Our enemies are thinking of testing us in these days leading up to the elections. I warn them that we are prepared for any scenario, including what is called a 'turn of the arms.' In such a case, I do not advise our enemies to test us. They will encounter here a force they could never have imagined," Netanyahu concluded, emphasizing his message of firmness against any threat.