Why is there sudden talk of 'turning the barrels' - and is the IDF preparing?
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has again raised the issue of Palestinian security forces potentially turning their weapons against Israel. The IDF emphasizes that while the scenario is being practiced, there is no intelligence indicating such a plan. Palestinian sources call these statements a political manipulation.
Since last week, the term 'turning the barrels' has been heard more and more in Israel. It began during a discussion at the Central Command where Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu caught the Chief of Staff off guard with a question about what would happen in such a situation, while command personnel were presenting a report on riots by extremist settlers.
This continued in Netanyahu's interview and connects to his past statements, as well as those of his government ministers. The IDF clarifies that this scenario is known and has been practiced, but in practice, there is no intelligence indicating such a plan. 'Turning the barrels' is a situation where weapons of the Palestinian security services—which hold thousands of weapons legally in the West Bank with Israel's approval—would be turned against Israeli communities or IDF soldiers.
Concerns and Preparation
In government cabinets, the issue is raised regularly. In a recent discussion, data was presented showing that the scope of Palestinian terrorism is in significant decline, but on the other hand, there is an increase in nationalist crime. The commander of the Central Command, Eyal Zamir, said that nationalist crime is 'like a match that can ignite everything in an instant,' and warned that the IDF's attention is constantly diverted to dealing with nationalist crime instead of stopping Palestinian terrorism.
Netanyahu pressed the Chief of Staff and asked about the turning of the barrels suddenly. Zamir clarified to the ministers that the IDF is preparing for this scenario and that the Judea and Samaria Division has practiced such a possibility. 'If it happens—we know how to act against it,' he said.
Minister Orit Struck, from the party of Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, is also pushing the issue, insisting on the collapse of the Palestinian Authority. Despite the lack of intelligence indicating that the Palestinian Authority is on the verge of a dramatic move, the army is not taking risks and is preparing for the extreme scenario. Zamir announced that due to the fear of escalation, a division headquarters was placed on alert.
The Palestinian Perspective
On the Palestinian side, there are those who claim that the statements in Israel are intended to create a pretext for a military confrontation, to weaken the Authority, and to serve internal political needs. Abdallah Kamil, governor of the Tulkarm district and a former senior official in the security services, rejected the claims that the Authority has offensive weapons: 'The weapons that are in the hands of the Authority are light police weapons. The most we have is a Kalashnikov.'
He stated that this equipment was transferred within the framework of agreements solely for the purposes of policing and internal security. Palestinian sources fear that framing the security services as a 'security threat' serves Netanyahu and the right to mobilize public support, which could ultimately create a security vacuum and increase instability on the ground.
