Katz attacks the Supreme Court: We will keep our forces in the northern West Bank camps for a long time

Katz's position came a day after the court demanded that the Israeli government provide a timetable for the return of Palestinians to the Jenin, Tulkarm, and Nur Shams camps.

On Sunday, the Israeli Supreme Court ordered the government to provide a timetable for completing the necessary steps for the return of Palestinians to their homes in the Jenin, Tulkarm, and Nur Shams camps.

The Israeli army had forced thousands of Palestinians to leave their homes in the three camps and has prevented them from returning since the beginning of 2025.

The court demanded that ways to accelerate their return be explored and granted the government a deadline until November 23 to submit its response.

The decision came as part of a petition filed by the "Association for Civil Rights in Israel" on behalf of Palestinians from the Jenin and Nur Shams camps who were forced to leave their homes.

The association stated that the Palestinians who were forced to leave the camps are suffering from difficult economic and humanitarian conditions.

Katz said, according to the private Israeli Channel 7: "The Supreme Court must stop interfering in the operational activity of the Israeli army in the West Bank."

He claimed that this activity "aims to protect the lives of Israeli soldiers and civilians."

Katz mentioned that he agreed with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, after taking office, to change what he called the "Israeli security concept" in the occupied West Bank.

He explained that the change includes abandoning frequent military raids on refugee camps and moving to impose long-term military control over them.

Katz claimed that the Israeli army took control of the Jenin, Tulkarm, and Nur Shams camps, citing the "presence of armed groups supported by Iran in them," and accused them of carrying out attacks across the West Bank and inside Israel.

He said that about 40,000 Palestinians left the three camps, and that the army killed militants and destroyed infrastructure he said was linked to militant activities, including booby-trapped houses and narrow streets, before keeping its forces in the camps permanently.

Katz claimed that the military operations led to an 80 percent decrease in attacks in the West Bank.

He also claimed that it limited the ability to carry out attacks inside Israel.

Katz stressed that the continued military presence in the camps "is not a legal issue, but an operational and security issue."

He added that the Supreme Court should not interfere in decisions related to the operations of the Israeli army in the West Bank.

He considered that "it should also not interfere in Israeli military operations in Gaza, Syria, Lebanon, and Iran."

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich attacked the judicial decision on Monday.

Smotrich called on Netanyahu and Katz to direct the army not to cooperate with the court and to prevent the return of Palestinians.

These positions come in light of the escalation of Israeli army attacks and settler terrorism in the occupied West Bank, coinciding with the Israeli genocide in the Gaza Strip.