Under aerial cover... Israel storms the West Bank in a major military operation.

Arab Sea Newspaper - Follow-ups:

The Israeli army announced today, Wednesday, the start of a large-scale military operation in the northern West Bank, after an escalation witnessed in a number of areas of the West Bank during the past few days. The spokesman for the Israeli army said: "The army, Shin Bet, and Border Guard forces launched a large-scale operation last night to thwart terrorist activities in the northern West Bank area." He added that "the army and the Shin Bet will not allow terrorism to be stationed in the region and are working proactively to thwart it," according to the statement. Dozens of Israeli vehicles stormed the city of Tubas and the towns of Tammun and Aqaba, and imposed a curfew in those areas until further notice. This coincided with intensive flights of Israeli helicopters, which fired towards a number of areas. The Israeli army began closing several roads leading to Tubas with earthen barriers, and expelled a number of families there from their homes. The "Yedioth Ahronoth" newspaper quoted military officials as saying that the operation is "extended" and will continue for several days, similar to the operations carried out by the Israeli army in refugee camps in the West Bank during the past two years. It pointed out that the operation came after a number of armed groups tried to station themselves in the rural areas of Tubas and Tammun, which had already begun in August, attempting to harm the Israeli army forces. During the past two days, the Israeli army carried out operations to pursue Palestinian militants in Nablus and Jenin, during which three Palestinians were killed, claiming that they were linked to previous operations that led to the killing of Israeli soldiers and settlers.