The IDF has evacuated about 40,000 Palestinians from the northern West Bank since January 21, the most in decades, Defense Minister Israel Katz said Sunday. It was a stunning admission given that the IDF has repeatedly denied reports attesting to that by The New York Times and CNN in recent weeks.

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

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

Israeli tanks have moved into Jenin in the occupied West Bank, shortly after the defense minister said troops will remain “for the coming year” in parts of the Palestinian territory. Associated Press journalists saw a handful of tanks move Sunday into Jenin,

Israel said on Sunday its troops would remain for many months in refugee camps in the occupied West Bank, after tens of thousands of Palestinians living there have been displaced by an intensifying military operation.

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.

By Raneen Sawafta and James Mackenzie JENIN, West Bank/JERUSALEM (Reuters) -Israel sent tanks into the occupied West Bank for the first time in more than 20 years on Sunday as it ordered the military to prepare for an "extended stay" to fight Palestinian militant groups in the area's refugee camps.