Israel on Sunday sent tanks into the occupied West Bank for the first time in over 20 years, mandating the military to get ready for an extended stay to fight Palestinian militant groups in the area’s refugee camps.
This comes as a fragile ceasefire in Gaza hit new hurdles after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered a stop to the release of Palestinian prisoners and detainees due to be freed under the truce.
It was gathered that the stoppage was in retaliation for public displays of Israeli hostages handed over in exchange in Gaza.
Many Palestinians have already been displaced from their homes in the West Bank over the past month due to military influx into the crowded refugee camps of flashpoint cities like Jenin and Tulkarm, cracking down on Iranian-backed groups including Hamas and Islamic Jihad.
The camps, which house descendants of Palestinians who fled or were driven from their homes in the 1948 war around the birth of the state of Israel, have been strongholds of the militant groups for decades.
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said at least 40,000 Palestinians had been moved from the camps which he said were now empty.
The prime minister instructed the military to pick up the intensity of operations after a series of explosions on buses in transport depots close to Tel Aviv on Thursday.
Israel sends tanks into West Bank, orders troops to remain
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