The Israeli Defense Forces confirmed Sunday that it has deployed tanks to the West Bank as it expands counter-terrorism operations in Jenin.

Associated Press journalists saw a handful of tanks move 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.

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.

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 has ordered its military to prepare for an "extended stay" in parts of the occupied West Bank as it steps up operations against Palestinian militant groups, the Israeli defence minister said on Sunday.

Israel says it is scaling up a weekslong offensive in the occupied West Bank, sending in tanks to a militant stronghold and pledging to keep troops in place for the next year in areas where Palestinia

The United States says it supports Israel for its decision to delay releasing 620 Palestinian prisoners, a key term agreed upon as part of the Gaza ceasefire deal.

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 defence minister said troops will remain in parts of the territory for a year and tens of thousands of Palestinians who have fled cannot return.

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