In first since 2002, Israel sends tanks to occupied West Bank as 40,000 Palestinians flee
Israel has stepped up its raids in West Bank towns and cities over the weekend in an apparent response to bus bombings near Tel Aviv last week.
Israeli tanks entered the Jenin refugee camp Sunday for the first time since 2002, as the Israeli military intensifies its monthlong military raid in the northern occupied West Bank.
Palestinian media reported a series of fresh Israeli raids in and around the city of Jenin on Monday, saying that Israeli forces stormed the towns of al-Yamoun and Burqin, both located west of Jenin, and Qabatiya, south of Jenin, destroying roads and buildings to make way for its vehicles.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made a rare visit to Tulkarem on Friday, where he ordered "additional operational activity against terror centers” in the northern West Bank.
“In the past year, we have greatly increased our activity,” he said during the visit to the Tulkarem refugee camp. “We are entering the terrorist strongholds, clearing entire streets used by terrorists, their homes. We are eliminating terrorists and commanders.”
