Israel has ordered its military to prepare for an "extended stay" in parts of the occupied West Bank as it steps up operations against Palestinian militant groups, the Israeli defence minister said on Sunday.

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.

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 Palestinia

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.”

Israel is deepening its crackdown on the Palestinian territory and has said it is determined to stamp out militancy amid a rise in attacks.

Israeli tanks moved into the occupied West Bank on Sunday for the first time in decades in what Palestinian authorities called a “dangerous escalation,” after the defense minister said troops will remain in parts of the territory for a year and tens of thousands of Palestinians who have fled cannot return.