(Refiles correcting dateline to Nov 26 from Nov 25; no other changes to text)
JERUSALEM/CAIRO (Reuters) -Israeli security forces on Wednesday launched what the military described as a counter-terrorism operation in the northern West Bank, which Palestinians said was targeting the city of Tubas.
Tubas Governor Ahmed Al-Asaad told Reuters Israeli forces, backed by a helicopter that had opened fire, were encircling the city and establishing positions across several neighbourhoods.
“The incursion looks to be a long one; occupation (Israeli) forces have driven people from their houses, commandeered rooftops of buildings, and are conducting arrests,” he said.
Al-Asaad said Israeli forces ordered those whom they forced to leave their homes not to return until the operation ends, which he anticipated could be several days.
The Israeli military said in an earlier statement that the operation, carried out with police and intelligence forces, began early on Wednesday morning.
ISRAELI OPERATIONS IN NORTHERN WEST BANK BEGAN IN JANUARY
Asked about the operation, a military spokesperson declined to comment, saying more details would be released soon.
Israel has said its security forces have been targeting Palestinian militancy in the West Bank, where hundreds of thousands of Israeli settlers live among 2.7 million Palestinians, granted limited self-rule under Israeli military occupation.
Hamas, which agreed to a ceasefire with Israel in Gaza last month, condemned the latest West Bank operation and called on the international community to intervene to stop it.
The assault on Tubas appeared to be an extension of a military operation launched by security forces in the northern West Bank city of Jenin in January, days after U.S. President Donald Trump returned to the White House.
That operation has since expanded to other Palestinian cities in the north of the West Bank, forcing thousands from their homes, with Israeli forces maintaining their longest presence in some West Bank cities for decades.
Israeli forces have cleared out refugee camps across the northern West Bank, with deadly raids destroying roads and homes. Human Rights Watch this month accused Israel of war crimes and crimes against humanity over what it said were forced expulsions. Israel denies committing such crimes.
Violence in the West Bank has escalated in recent months, with Israeli settlers carrying out attacks on Palestinian communities. Settlers are rarely arrested or prosecuted, although the wave of attacks has drawn criticism from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and others in his government.
Since Hamas carried out the October 7 attack on Israel from Gaza two years ago, Israel has sharply curtailed movement in the West Bank, with new checkpoints erected and some Palestinian communities effectively sealed off by gates and roadblocks.
(Reporting by Alexander Cornwell in Jerusalem and Nidal al-Mughrabi in CairoEditing by Peter Graff)
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