Israel’s military deployed tanks Sunday into the occupied West Bank Sunday for the first time in more than two decades and said residents who had been “evacuated” will be prevented from returning, in a move decried by Palestinian authorities as an escalation of aggression.

It's the first deployment of Israeli tanks to the West Bank since a major 2002 offensive carried out in response to a wave of Palestinian suicide bombings. (AP video by Aref Tufaha)

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.