An Israeli tank crosses the ceasefire line between Syria and the Israeli Golan Heights, Dec. 11, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Avi Ohayon

i24 News – Operations in the West Bank expand as Israeli tanks entered the northern West Bank on Sunday, the first time in more than 20 years that heavy armor has deployed to the region.

Following a security evaluation, the defense ministry decided to raise the level of IDF activity. The 188th Armored Brigade deployed in the area for the first time since Operation Defensive Shield in 2002. Simultaneously, a battalion of the Nahal Infantry Brigade and the elite Duvdevan Unit began operating in additional villages nearby.

The tanks will focus on the Jenin refugee camp, a hotbed of terrorism for years. They will mainly be used to protect infantry soldiers deploying into narrow alleyways, where local terrorist still exert control. In tandem, fighters of the 931st Battalion of the Nahal Brigade are operating in the Qabatiya refugee camp to the south, which is considered a sanctuary for terrorists fleeing from Jenin.

The entry of tanks into the area is an escalation in the fight against terrorism in the area, following persistent claims in recent years by the Central Command that there is no need for such heavy armored vehicles to respond to the terror threat in Jenin. The force deployed for the time being is symbolic, consisting of only one platoon. Instead of completing a substantial operational goal in the ongoing operation, the IDF seeks to send a conscious message.

Israel’s Defense Minister Israel Katz confirmed the report on i24NEWS, and announced that the IDF is preparing for a prolonged stay in the Jenin area. “The IDF is preparing to stay for the next year in the camps that have been cleaned – and not to allow the residents to come back and for terror to return and flourish. So far, 40,000 Palestinians have been evacuated from the refugee camps of Jenin, Tulkarem, and Nur al-Shams, which are now empty of residents. UNRWA’s activity in the camps has also been halted.”