The Israel Defense Forces insisted it was “not forcing the Palestinians to evacuate,” but said it had “allowed residents of the camp to evacuate … through an organized and secured point.”

Israeli troops will remain in the Palestinians' Jenin refugee camp once the large-scale raid they launched last week is complete, Defence Minister Israel Katz said on Wednesday as a crackdown in the occupied West Bank extended into a second week.

The Israeli military will keep a presence in Jenin following the current military operation in the northern West Bank city considered a stronghold of Palestinian militants, Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said on Wednesday.

As Israel withdraws some of its troops from Gaza during a cease-fire there, it has turned attention to another Palestinian territory — in particular a city with a history of militant activity.

In the days since a fragile ceasefire took hold in the Gaza Strip, Israel has launched a major military operation in the occupied West Bank and suspected Jewish settlers have rampaged through two Palestinian towns.

An Israeli drone strike on a vehicle near the West Bank town of Qabatiya killed two people, the Palestinian health ministry said on Friday, the fourth day of a large-scale Israeli operation in the nearby city of Jenin launched after the truce in Gaza.