Israel's defense minister said Sunday troops will remain “for the coming year” in parts of the occupied West Bank where they have launched an offensive and will prevent tens of thousands of displaced Palestinians from returning,

The Israeli military is expanding its operations in the occupied West Bank and will remain in some refugee camps for the “coming year,” Defense Minister Israel Katz said Sunday.

A month-long sweep for Palestinian militants in the northern West Bank could continue for a year, Israel’s defense minister said, adding that residents who fled will be barred from returning and that a contested UN relief agency’s work there will be halted.

Israel has expelled the residents of three refugee camps in the occupied West Bank as it steps up a major month-long operation in the Palestinian territory. Israel's Defence Minister Israel Katz said the camps in Jenin,

Israel's defense minister says he has instructed the military to prepare to remain in some of the occupied West Bank’s urban refugee camps “for the coming year.” The comments by Israel Katz Sunday come as Israel is intensifying an offensive in the Palestinian territory and as the ceasefire that paused the Gaza war is holding.

Israel's defense minister said Sunday that troops would remain in parts of the occupied West Bank, where Israel has staged a weekslong offensive.

Israel launched a broad offensive on the northern West Bank on Jan. 21 — two days after the ceasefire that paused the war in Gaza took hold — and then expanded it to include o

Israel is delaying the release of Palestinian detainees and prisoners, disrupting the Gaza ceasefire deal, and its military is intensifying an offensive in the occupied West Bank

Israel launched an offensive in the West Bank on Jan. 21, two days after the ceasefire that paused the war in Gaza took effect.