From near Tulkarm... Netanyahu strips residents of their status and threatens

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu threatened to use severe military force against any potential attacks from the occupied West Bank during a tour near Tulkarm, linking security warnings to the upcoming Israeli elections, and affirmed his refusal to allow displaced persons to return to the Tulkarm camp and his insistence on the Israeli army remaining in the area.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu threatened to use severe military force against any potential attacks from the occupied West Bank during a tour near the city of Tulkarm, linking security warnings to the upcoming Israeli elections. Netanyahu's statements came during a visit to what is known as the "contact zone" at the separation wall in the West Bank, accompanied by Security Minister Israel Katz, the head of the National Security Council, and the commander of the Central Command in the Israeli army, where he received a briefing from army leaders, the General Security Service (Shin Bet), and the "Border Guard" regarding military measures to protect Israeli settlements adjacent to the area and operations carried out by Israeli forces inside Palestinian villages. Netanyahu said in a filmed statement during the visit: "There are warnings here, and that is true. Our enemies are thinking of testing us these days, before the elections," adding, "I warn them that we are prepared for every scenario, including what is called 'turning the guns,'" referring to the possibility of directing Palestinian security weapons towards Israeli occupation forces. He added that the army presented him and the Security Minister with a "bold and strong plan," warning: "In such a case, I do not advise our enemies to test us."