Israeli tanks enter the occupied west coast for the first time in decades | Human rights news
Israeli forces deployed their tanks on the occupied West Bank for the first time in more than 20 years as part of an intensified military offensive that displaced 40,000 Palestinians from refugee camps in the north.
Israel said on Sunday that his troops would remain in the refugee campsites on the West Coast for the coming year, announcing extended military operations, including tanks deploying.
Immediately after the interruption began in the Gaza belt about a month ago, the Israeli army launched a major raid against Palestinian fighters on the west coast. The operation covers several refugee camps near the cities of Jenin, Tulkarema and Tubas.
“So far, 40,000 Palestinians have evacuated from the refugee camps of Jenin, Tulkarem and Nur Shams, who are now empty of the inhabitants,” Defense Minister of Defense Israel Katz said in a statement.
“I directed [troops] In order to prepare for a long presence in cleaned camps for the next year and prevent the return of residents and re -establishing terrorism, “he added.
According to the United Nations, at least 51 Palestinians have been killed by the Israeli offensive, including seven children and three Israeli soldiers, as well as displacing at least 40,000 people.
The army announced on Sunday that “tanks divisions would act in Jenin” as part of the “expansion” of surgery in the area.
This is the first time the tanks have moved to the territory from the end of the second intifada or getting up in 2005.
“Nahal [infantry] Brigade and [elite] The forces of the Duvdevan units began to intervene in other villages “in the north of the territory, according to Katz’s statement, adding that” they continue their business in the regions of Jenin and Tulkarem. “
In Tulkarem and Jena, the army collapsed dozens of homes with explosives, opening new access routes into densely built camps. Armored bulldozers devastated, enhanced asphalt, cut water pipes and demolished the facades on the road.
Violence on the west coast has increased since the war in Gaza broke out in October 2023.
Israeli troops or settlers killed at least 900 Palestinians, including many fighters, in the territory from the beginning of the conflict, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.
