Israeli troops to stay in West Bank camps for a year and not allow 40,000 Palestinians home

Defence Minister instructs military to remain in Jenin, Tulkarm and Nur Shams camps after forcing refugees out

Israeli forces drive tanks into Jenin refugee camp in the occupied West Bank. EPA

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Israel has deployed tanks into the West Bank for the first time in 20 years, as its Defence Minister pledged a long-term operation that will prevent at least 40,000 displaced refugees from returning home.

Israel Katz instructed the military to hold the north of the occupied territory “for the coming year”.

The move to occupy Jenin, Tulkarm and Nur Shams – three of the world's oldest refugee camps – will further squeeze Palestinians from an ever-shrinking strip of land.

"So far, 40,000 Palestinians have evacuated from the refugee camps of Jenin, Tulkarm and Nur Shams, which are now empty of residents," Mr Katz said, referring to residents who have been forcibly displaced by the continuing violence. "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.

The comments came as Israel is intensifying an offensive in the occupied territory and after a fragile ceasefire that paused the war in Gaza came into force in January. Israel's army on Sunday announced the deployment of a tank division in the city of Jenin, the first time tanks have operated in the Palestinian territory since the end of the Second Intifada in 2005.

The Israeli military, "Shin Bet [the security agency] and border police forces continue their counterterrorism operation in northern Samaria [the West Bank] and are expanding offensive activities in the area", Mr Katz added.

On Friday, the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the army to step up its operations in the occupied West Bank during a rare visit to troops in the territory that drew Palestinian condemnation. Mr Netanyahu's visit to Tulkarm refugee camp in the north came after Israeli officials blamed the bombing of several buses in central Israel on Thursday on fighters from the West Bank.

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The Prime Minister's office said he had ordered more "operational activity" in the northern West Bank in response to the blasts. Mr Netanyahu’s trip came as Israeli forces continue an operation named Iron Wall, that has displaced tens of thousands of Palestinians and destroyed vast amounts of private property and infrastructure, stoking fears that Israel is seeking to replicate its war on Gaza in the West Bank. Israel says it is launching the operation to fight terrorism.

The operations associated with Iron Wall span numerous refugee camps near the cities of Jenin, Tulkarm and Tubas. On Friday, "live fire" from Israeli troops killed a 13-year-old girl in Jenin refugee camp, the Palestinian Health Ministry said. Israeli fire also killed a 13-year-old boy near the southern West Bank city of Hebron, the ministry added.

The Israeli offensive has displaced at least 40,000 people, according to the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs. The operation is now the longest in the West Bank since the Second Intifada in the early 2000s. In Tulkarm and Jenin, the army has demolished dozens of homes with explosives, opening up new access routes into the densely built camps.

Israeli troops or settlers have killed at least 900 Palestinians, including many militants, in the territory since the start of the war, the Palestinian Health Ministry says. At least 32 Israelis have been killed in Palestinian attacks or during Israeli military operations in the territory over the same period, according to Israel's official figures.