Israel moves tanks into West Bank for first time since 2002

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Israel sent tanks into the West Bank on Sunday for the first time since 2002, telling its military to prepare for “an extended stay” as the Jewish state remains determined to stamp out terrorism in the territory’s refugee camps.

Several tanks were seen moving into Jenin as a fragile ceasefire between the terrorist organization Hamas and Israel remains in place.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said he and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the military to “increase the intensity of the activity to thwart terrorism” across the West Bank.

Katz said troops will remain “for the coming year” in parts of the territory and indicated that Palestinians who have fled cannot return.

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An Israeli tank drives toward the West Bank on Feb. 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed)

“We will not allow the return of residents, and we will not allow terrorism to return and grow,” he said.

Earlier, Katz said he instructed the military to prepare for “an extended stay” in some of the West Bank’s urban areas, from which he said about 40,000 Palestinians have fled, leaving the areas “emptied of residents.” That figure was confirmed by the United Nations.

An Israeli tank maneuvers during an Israeli operation in Jenin, in the West Bank, on Feb. 23, 2025. (REUTERS/Raneen Sawafta)

Netanyahu said Israeli forces will remain “as long as needed.”

The Palestinian foreign ministry called the Israeli moves “a dangerous escalation of the situation in the West Bank.”

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Tanks were last deployed in the territory in 2002, when Israel fought against deadly Palestinian violence.

The move on Sunday comes as the delicate ceasefire deal that was reached a month ago between Hamas and Israel remains in place.

An Israeli military vehicle is shown in Jenin, in the West Bank, on Feb. 23, 2025. (REUTERS/Raneen Sawafta)

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Hamas freed six hostages on Saturday in exchange for more than 600 Palestinian prisoners as part of the agreement. Netanyahu has said 63 hostages remain, including the remains of a soldier captured in 2014.

The conflict began on Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas terrorists from the Gaza Strip led an assault in southern Israel, killing more than 1,100 people and abducting about 250 more.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.