Israeli tanks seen moving into Jenin in occupied West Bank
Tanks were last deployed in the territory in 2002.
Israeli tanks have moved into the occupied West Bank for the first time since 2002, shortly after the defence minister said troops will remain “for the coming year” in parts of the territory and indicated that Palestinians who have fled cannot return.
Associated Press journalists saw a handful of tanks move on Sunday into Jenin, long a bastion of armed struggle against Israel.
Israel is deepening its crackdown on the Palestinian territory and has said it is determined to stamp out militancy amid a rise in attacks.
It launched the offensive in the northern West Bank on January 21 – two days after the current ceasefire in Gaza took hold – and expanded it to nearby areas.
Palestinians view such raids as part of an effort to cement Israeli control over the territory, where three million Palestinians live under military rule. The deadly raids have caused destruction in urban areas.
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said he and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the military to “increase the intensity of the activity to thwart terrorism” in all refugee camps in the West Bank.
“We will not allow the return of residents, and we will not allow terrorism to return and grow,” he said.
Earlier, Mr Katz said he had instructed the military to prepare for “an extended stay” in some of the West Bank’s urban refugee camps, from where he said about 40,000 Palestinians have fled, leaving the areas “emptied of residents”. That figure was confirmed by the United Nations.
The camps are home to descendants of Palestinians who fled or were forced to flee during wars with Israel decades ago.
It was not clear how long Palestinians would be prevented from returning. Mr Netanyahu said Israeli forces will remain “as long as needed”.
Tanks were last deployed in the territory in 2002, when Israel fought a deadly Palestinian uprising.
The Palestinian foreign ministry called the Israeli moves “a dangerous escalation of the situation in the West Bank”, and urged the international community in a statement to intervene in what it termed Israel’s illegal “aggression”.
