The PA could launch a more severe attack than Hamas did on Oct 7, report warns

A far larger armed force than Hamas used on Oct 7 now operates only about 22 kilometers from Israel’s main population centers.

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

The Palestinian Authority’s security forces have expanded into what amounts to a military force capable of threatening Israel, according to a study released by the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs that calls for an immediate overhaul of Israeli policy.

The report, “22 Kilometers – The Threat Posed by the Palestinian Authority’s Terror Army,” was written by Lt. Col. (res.) Adv. Maurice Hirsch, who argues that the force created under the Oslo Accords bears little resemblance to its original mandate.

Hirsch writes that the accords authorized a Palestinian police force of 30,000 personnel, including 12,000 in Judea and Samaria, armed with 4,000 rifles, 4,000 pistols, 120 machine guns and 15 armored vehicles. He contends that the force has since grown to roughly 70,000 security personnel equipped with tens of thousands of firearms and organized along military lines.

The study charts that expansion, saying the force numbered about 18,000 personnel in 1995, increased to approximately 32,000 in 1997, 40,000 in 2001, 52,000 in 2003, 61,000 in 2006 and about 65,000 in subsequent years. It says most of the growth occurred after Hamas took control of the Gaza Strip in 2007.

The report also states that Palestinian Authority security personnel receive advanced military instruction through American and European assistance and at Pakistan’s military academy.

Hirsch says the training includes armored warfare, artillery, sniper operations, parachuting, heavy machine guns and shoulder-fired missiles, adding that official Palestinian Authority publications describe the force as the “Army of Palestine.”

Drawing a comparison with Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack, Hirsch notes that approximately 6,000 terrorists entered Israel during the assault, including about 3,000 trained members of terrorist organizations.

He argues that a far larger armed force now operates only about 22 kilometers from Israel’s main population centers and warns of a possible “turning of the guns” scenario in which Palestinian Authority personnel attack Israel.

The study recommends ending weapons transfers to the Palestinian Authority, restoring force levels to those permitted under the Oslo Accords, establishing independent weapons oversight, closing military training facilities, preparing operationally for such a scenario and urging foreign governments to halt military training for Palestinian security personnel.

“Continuing to ignore the strengthening of the Palestinian Authority’s ‘terror army’ is a dangerous gamble with the lives of millions of Israelis. The writing is on the wall, less than 22 kilometers from the heart of the country. The danger is real and almost certain. To prevent a disaster far greater than the October 7 massacre, we must act proactively before we are left counting the victims.”