Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz says Israel will not allow the Palestinian Authority (PA) to control the occupied West Bank, Al Jazeera reports.

He made the remarks during a tour of the territory with far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who said Israel was “here to stay”.

“Just as we are crushing Palestinian terror in the terror camps of Jenin, Tulkarem, and Nur al-Shams, we will prevent any attempt by the PA to take control of Judea and Samaria and harm Jewish settlements,” Katz said in a video statement alongside Smotrich, using a biblical term to refer to the West Bank.