Associated Press journalists saw a handful of tanks move Sunday into Jenin, long a bastion of armed struggle against Israel.

The IDF has evacuated about 40,000 Palestinians from the northern West Bank since January 21, the most in decades, Defense Minister Israel Katz said Sunday. It was a stunning admission given that the IDF has repeatedly denied reports attesting to that by The New York Times and CNN in recent weeks.

A month-long sweep for Palestinian militants in the northern West Bank could continue for a year, Israel’s defense minister said, adding that residents who fled will be barred from returning and that a contested UN relief agency’s work there will be halted.