JERUSALEM, Oct 24 — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the Palestinian Authority was in for a “big surprise” after he ordered a major military operation in response to an attack on soldiers in the West Bank.

Netanyahu, days ahead of elections, declined to answer directly when he was asked if he would dismantle the Palestinian Authority but said he favoured “ruse and surprise”.

“We transformed the Middle East. I said that we would change things and we have,” Netanyahu told i24News in an interview conducted late Friday.

“There is a very big surprise for the Palestinian Authority as well.”