ISRAEL’S defence minister said today troops would remain “for the coming year” in parts of the occupied West Bank.

This follows complaints by Hamas over the decision by Tel Aviv to halt the release of detainees promised under the ceasefire deal.

The Israelis have deepened their crackdown on the Palestinian territory since launching their military offensive on the northern West Bank on January 21 — two days after the ceasefire that paused the war in Gaza took hold. They then expanded it to include other nearby areas. 

Israel says it is determined to stamp out resistance in the territory, but Palestinians view such raids as part of an effort to cement Israeli control over the territory, where three million Palestinians live under military rule.

The deadly raids have devastated urban areas and displaced tens of thousands.

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said he had instructed the military to prepare to remain in some of the West Bank’s urban refugee camps, from where he said some 40,000 Palestinians had fled leaving the areas “emptied of residents.”

He said in a statement he had ordered the military to “prepare for an extended stay in the camps that were cleared for the coming year and to not allow the return of residents or for terror to grow again.”

It was not clear for how long Palestinians would be prevented from returning.

The military said it was expanding the raid in the West Bank to other areas and sending tanks to Jenin.

The refugee camps are home to descendants of Palestinians who fled or were forced to flee during wars with Israel decades ago.

Israel occupies large parts of the West Bank while the Palestinian Authority administers other areas. 

The United Nations says the current operation is the longest since the early 2000s.

More than 800 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank since the war in Gaza erupted on October 7 2023. 

Meanwhile, Hamas has condemned Israel’s decision to delay the release of Palestinian prisoners.

However, Israel claims that the hostages are being humiliated during Hamas’s release ceremonies.

In a statement, Hamas said: “The prisoner handover ceremony does not include any insult to them, but rather reflects the noble humane treatment of them.”

Hamas called on mediators to intervene to hold Israel to the terms of the Gaza ceasefire deal.

But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insisted that freeing the Palestinian prisoners would be delayed until Hamas ends its “humiliating ceremonies.”