Israel says army to stay in evacuated West Bank camps for ‘coming year’

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM: Israel on Sunday said troops would stay in occupied West Bank refugee camps for the coming year, announcing expanded military operations including tank deployments, after the displacement of tens of thousands of Palestinians.

The military one month ago began a major raid against Palestinian fighters in the West Bank just after a truce began in the Gaza Strip, another Palestinian territory.

The Israeli operation in the West Bank spans multiple refugee camps near the cities of Jenin, Tulkarem and Tubas.

“So far, 40,000 Palestinians have evacuated from the refugee camps of Jenin, Tulkarem, and Nur Shams, which are now empty of residents,” Defence Minister Israel Katz said in a statement.

“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,” he added.

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According to the United Nations, the Israeli offensive has so far killed at least 51 Palestinians, including seven children, and three Israeli soldiers, as well as displacing at least 40,000 people.

On Sunday, Israel’s military said “a tank division will operate in Jenin” as part of “expanding” operations in the area. This is the first time tanks have operated in the territory since the end of the second intifada, or uprising, in 2005.

“The Nahal (infantry) Brigade and (elite) Duvdevan Unit forces have begun to intervene in other villages” in the north of the territory, Katz’s statement said, adding that the forces “are continuing their operations in the Jenin and Tulkarem regions.”

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The statement comes two days after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, during a rare visit to troops in the territory, ordered the army to step up its operations in the West Bank, which Israel has occupied since 1967.

His visit to Tulkarem refugee camp drew Palestinian condemnation.

“We are entering terrorist strongholds, flattening entire streets that terrorists use, and their homes. We are eliminating terrorists, commanders,” Netanyahu said.

In both Tulkarem and Jenin, the army has demolished dozens of homes with explosives, opening up new access routes into the densely built camps.

Armoured bulldozers have wreaked havoc, upturning tarmac, cutting water pipes and tearing down roadside facades.