Feb. 23 (UPI) — The Israel Defense Forces confirmed Sunday that it has deployed tanks to the West Bank as it expands counter-terrorism operations in Jenin.
It’s part of a major offensive in the northern West Bank that has been underway since Jan. 21, dubbed Operation Iron Wall. The IDF said it sent three tanks into the area, according to The Times of Israel.
It’s the first time since 2002 that IDF tanks have operated in the West Bank.
Palestinians have long viewed offensive moves like this as an effort by Israel to further increase its control over the area.
The Palestinian Authority’s Foreign Ministry described the deployment of tanks in a statement as a continuation of Israel’s systemic genocide and displacement of Palestinians and annexation of Palestinian land.
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, the nation’s Defense Minister Israel Katz said.
“So far, 40,000 Palestinians have evacuated from the refugee camps of Jenin, Tulkarem and Nur Shams, which are now empty of residents,” Katz said in a statement obtained by BBC News. “We will not allow the return of residents, and we will not allow terrorism to return and grow,” he continued.
“I have instructed [troops] to prepare for a prolonged presence in the cleared camps for the coming year and to prevent the return of residents and the resurgence of terrorism.”
Katz also said he directed the U.N.’s Palestinian refugee agency to stop operating in the area. The U.N. reported on Thursday that 51 Palestinians, including seven children, had been killed in Jenin, Tulkarm and Tubas governorates, as well as three Israeli soldiers in the latest spasm of ongoing violence between Israel and Hamas.
The Palestinian Foreign Ministry said it views the deployment of tanks and Katz’s words as a “grave escalation in the West Bank and a flagrant attempt to entrench genocide and forced displacement against our unarmed people.”
Israel’s occupation of the West Bank and the establishment of settlements there are widely viewed as illegal under international law, and has attracted repeated criticism and condemnation from the United Nations and the wider international community.
“The Ministry renews its urgent calls on the international community to intervene immediately to curb Israel’s unchecked aggression, which continues in blatant violation of international law and signed agreements, and compel it to end its assault on the Palestinian people and their fundamental rights, foremost among them is their inalienable right to remain on their land,” the Palestinian Foreign Ministry said.
Israeli officials said the offensive that began on Jan. 21 has disrupted water, sanitation and other infrastructure services for at least tens of thousands of people. Netanyahu has not backed down from his original pledge to destroy Hamas, which he made after it attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
“We are entering terrorist strongholds, flattening entire streets that terrorists use, and their homes. We are eliminating terrorists, commanders,” Netanyahu said.
