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.

Israeli tanks have moved into the occupied West Bank for the first time since 2002, shortly after the defense minister said troops will remain “for the coming year” in parts of the territory and indicated that Palestinians who have fled cannot return.

Israel says it is scaling up a weekslong offensive in the occupied West Bank, sending in tanks to a militant stronghold and pledging to keep troops in place for the next year in areas where Palestinians have fled.