The Israeli military is expanding its operations in the occupied West Bank and will remain in some refugee camps for the “coming year,” Defense Minister Israel Katz said Sunday.

Israel deployed tanks in the West Bank city of Jenin for the first time in two decades. While speaking on the matter, Israel’s Defence Minister Israel Katz said that the operation in West Bank would ’

Associated Press journalists saw a handful of tanks move Sunday into Jenin, long a bastion of armed struggle against Israel.

Israel’s defense minister, Israel Katz, said that 40,000 Palestinian residents displaced from militant hotbeds would not be allowed to return to their homes.

Israel said on Sunday its troops would remain for many months in refugee camps in the occupied West Bank, after tens of thousands of Palestinians living there have been displaced by an intensifying military operation.

Israeli tanks moved into the occupied West Bank on Sunday for the first time in decades in what Palestinian authorities called a “dangerous escalation,” after the defense minister said

Israeli tanks have moved into the occupied West Bank for the first time since 2002, shortly after the defense minister said troops will remain “for the coming year” in parts of the territory and indicated that Palestinians who have fled cannot return.

By Raneen Sawafta and James Mackenzie JENIN, West Bank/JERUSALEM (Reuters) -Israel sent tanks into the occupied West Bank for the first time in more than 20 years on Sunday as it ordered the military to prepare for an "extended stay" to fight Palestinian militant groups in the area's refugee camps.

Israeli tanks moved into the occupied West Bank for the first time since 2002 on Sunday, shortly after Israel's defence minister said troops will remain 'for the coming year' in parts of the Palestinian territory.