# Rewritten Body

On October 7, 2023, more than 6,000 terrorists from Gaza invaded Israel, with roughly half being trained and armed operatives from Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad and the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades. The remaining attackers were additional terrorists not necessarily affiliated with those organizations. The group that penetrated deepest reached Ofakim, approximately 22 kilometers from Gaza.

According to the report, the Palestinian Authority now maintains armed security forces roughly ten times larger than the total number of terrorists who invaded on October 7, violating the Oslo Accords. These forces consist of approximately 70,000 personnel equipped with tens of thousands of weapons and receive military training. Many members have previously participated in attacks against Israel, and they train exclusively for conflict with Israel.

The regions adjacent to the West Bank contain Israel's largest population centers. The distance from Qalqilya to the Mediterranean is only 14 kilometers. Multiple population and industrial centers including Kfar Saba, Ra'anana, Hod Hasharon and Herzliya lie within a 22-kilometer radius comparable to the distance reached by October 7 attackers. Millions of Israeli citizens live within this range.

The Oslo Accords established the Palestinian Authority Police Force as a small policing body with limited weaponry: originally 12,000 personnel in the West Bank equipped with 4,000 rifles, 4,000 pistols, 120 machine guns and 15 armored vehicles. The force was authorized to reach 30,000 total personnel across both the West Bank and Gaza.

Over decades, the PA systematically expanded these forces beyond agreement limits. By 1997, the force reached approximately 32,000 personnel; by 2001 approximately 40,000; by 2003 approximately 52,000; and by 2006, 61,051. A 2007 reorganization renamed the various components the PA Security Apparatuses. By 2018, approximately 65,829 security personnel were recorded in the West Bank alone - more than five times the authorized 12,000.

These forces now possess tens of thousands of rifles and pistols, dozens of armored vehicles and heavy military equipment including documented rocket-propelled grenades and shoulder-fired missiles. The reported 2024 Palestinian crime rate of 1,335.6 offenses per 100,000 residents is relatively low internationally and does not justify such a large armed force for policing purposes.

Many PA security personnel participated in terrorist attacks during the 2000-2005 Palestinian uprising, with senior PLO official Jibril Rajoub stating that at least 12 percent of terrorists imprisoned in Israeli jails belonged to the PA security forces. Senior PLO figure Faisal Husseini acknowledged the security force was designed as a "Trojan horse" Through which a future Palestinian state army could be built.

The United States provided approximately $392 million to the PA for security purposes between 2007 and May 2010, allocating $160 million to training, $89 million to nonlethal equipment, $99 million to camp construction and $22 million to capacity building. Of roughly $1.319 billion committed by the United States over the years, slightly less than $1 billion was disbursed. The European Union also invested tens of millions of euros through its support program.

PA security personnel have undergone advanced military training abroad. In 2024 and January 2025, numerous PA security officers received comprehensive military training at Pakistan's military academy, including armored warfare, artillery, shoulder-fired missiles, heavy machine guns, sniping and parachuting. Participants stated the training transformed them from civilians into soldiers and they would share acquired knowledge with forces in the West Bank.

Successive Israeli governments approved weapons transfers to the PA security forces. In July 2007, the Olmert government approved transfer of 1,000 rifles from Jordan. In May 2008, another 1,000 Kalashnikov rifles and tens of thousands of rounds were approved. In December 2016 and May 2019, the Netanyahu government approved transfers of additional armored vehicles. In September 2023, weeks before October 7, the PA reportedly received 1,500 weapons and eight armored vehicles from the U.S. Administration, though Netanyahu later denied new weapons had been transferred.

Israeli security coordination with the PA has proven limited in practice. The PA cooperates primarily against rivals like Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad while showing leniency toward Fatah-affiliated terrorist infrastructure. When Abbas froze security coordination in May 2020, it did not result in increased terrorism. In 2022, when coordination operated fully, 31 Israelis were murdered by Palestinian terrorists - the deadliest year since 2014-2015.

Within 22 kilometers of the West Bank, multiple breakthrough scenarios would endanger millions. A northward breakthrough from Jenin would risk approximately 340,000 people. A westward breakthrough from Tulkarm would endanger approximately 500,000 Israelis. A breakthrough from Qalqilya could expose tens of thousands on Highway 6 and endanger more than 2.5 million Israelis. Breakthroughs from central or southern areas would threaten Jerusalem, Modi'in, Beit Shemesh and other communities with combined populations around 2 million.

The report notes that Israel remains captive to the belief that strengthening PA security forces serves Israeli interests through fighting Hamas, when in practice these forces train for scenarios in which they would turn weapons against Israeli citizens. The short distance between Israel's population centers and PA military bases means any outbreak of violence would pose an immediate strategic threat on a potentially greater scale than October 7.