Israel's Defense Minister Israel Katz announced on Sunday that 40,000 Palestinians have been "evacuated" from refugee camps in Jenin, Tulkarem, and Nur Shams on the West Bank.
Military forces will remain in the camps for the coming year and the residents are not allowed to return. Additionally, tanks are being deployed on the West Bank.
The big question is how much of this is done out of military necessity and how much is done for political reasons, says Anders Persson at Linnaeus University.
Very unclear
The new offensive is part of the military operation "Iron Wall" against northern West Bank, which began on January 21. It has been described as an anti-terrorism operation.
It is very unclear how much of this is really necessary for Israel's security, says Persson.
He points out that on the political right-wing in Israel, there are those who collectively want to punish Palestinians on the West Bank. There are also the most extreme, who want to expel Palestinians from their homes to build out Israeli settlements and eventually annex the area.
What Trump says
There is no doubt that these right-wing forces have advanced their positions with Trump's election victory and inauguration, says Anders Persson.
The big question here is what Donald Trump says.
So far, the American president's position on an Israeli annexation of the West Bank has been unclear.
Persson emphasizes, however, that there is no doubt that the current refugee camps have for many years been bases for both Palestinian terrorist groups that attack Israeli civilians and legitimate resistance against the Israeli occupation power.
Were allowed to return
The Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has condemned Israel's military operation and called it ethnic cleansing.
Anders Persson states that there has long been talk of ethnic cleansing in Gaza from those who are critical of Israel. Then, many thousands were driven from their homes.
But after the ceasefire, almost all of these people were allowed to return, so it's not ethnic cleansing, he says.
