SpaceWar.com reports: “The Israeli Defense Forces confirmed Sunday that it has deployed tanks to the West Bank as it expands counter-terrorism operations in Jenin.

It’s part of a major offensive in the northern West Bank that has been underway since January 21, dubbed Operation Iron Wall. IDF said it sent three tanks into the area, according to The Times of Israel.

It’s the first time since 2002 that IDF tanks are operating in the West Bank, according to reporting by The Quds Press Agency.

Palestinians have long viewed offensive moves like this are an effort by Israel to further increase its control over the area.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the military to ‘increase the intensity of the activity to thwart terrorism’ in all refugee camps in the West Bank, the nation’s Defense Minister Israel Katz said.

‘So far, 40,000 Palestinians have evacuated from the refugee camps of Jenin, Tulkarem, and Nur Shams, which are now empty of residents,’ Katz said in a statement obtained by BBC News. ‘We will not allow the return of residents, and we will not allow terrorism to return and grow,’ he continued…”