Katz calls for Palestinian evacuation during anti-terror campaign

Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz called this morning (Wednesday) to act in Judea and Samaria as they do in Gaza - including evacuation of residents.

Against the background of the extensive operation that began tonight in many sectors of Judea and Samaria, Katz said: "The IDF has been working intensively since last night in the Jenin and Tulkarm refugee camps to thwart Islamic-Iranian terrorist infrastructures that have been established there. Iran is working to establish an eastern terrorist front against Israel in the West Bank, according to the Gaza and Lebanon model, by financing and arming terrorists and smuggling advanced weapons from Jordan."

Katz continued to say that "we must deal with the threat just as we deal with the terrorist infrastructure in Gaza, including the temporary evacuation of Palestinian residents and any step that will be required. This is a war for everything and we must win it."

About three weeks ago, it was published in Israel Hayom that Minister Katz said the same things in a closed meeting with Yesha leaders. The publication also led to echoes in the Arab world, which quoted the words in many media outlets.

* Israel Hayom contributed to this article.