Israel mulls tank deployment to northern West Bank for first time in 23 years
Israeli soldiers speak with a Palestinian woman as she leaves her home for safety during a raid by the army in the Nur Shams refugee camp near Tulkarem in the occupied West Bank on February 11, 2025. (AFP Photo)
The Israeli army may deploy tanks to the northern occupied West Bank for the first time in 23 years, a media outlet reported Saturday. This move comes amid an escalating Israeli offensive across several northern West Bank governorates, with particular focus on Palestinian refugee camps for the 33rd consecutive day.
According to Israeli meadia outlet Channel 14, citing anonymous sources, the political leadership is “pressuring for the inclusion of tanks in the ongoing military operation in the northern West Bank.”
The tanks “could soon participate in the military operation,” the sources further indicated.
It added that the decision came “after pressure from the political leadership.”
The source noted that the army does not rule out using the air force again if developments warrant it.
The army continued deadly raids in the northern West Bank, where at least 60 victims were killed and thousands displaced since last month.
Tension has been running high across the occupied West Bank, where at least 923 Palestinians have been killed and nearly 7,000 injured in attacks by the Israeli army and illegal settlers since the start of the onslaught against the Gaza Strip on Oct. 7, 2023, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.
The International Court of Justice declared in July that Israel’s long-standing occupation of Palestinian territories is illegal, demanding the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
