Israeli troops have left the West Bank city of Hebron, ending the latest of several incursions into Palestinian territory.
The force of three tanks, about 20 armoured personnel carriers and 20 jeeps entered Hebron before daybreak and left a few hours later, witnesses said.
Palestinian officials said the Israeli military arrested three people during the incursion, one of them a local leader of the Islamic militant group Hamas.
Since the end of a full-scale Israeli incursion into the West Bank that ended earlier this month, Israeli forces have made almost nightly raids into Palestinian towns and villages, arresting suspected militants and searching for weapons and explosives.
However, in a longer-lasting operation, Israeli forces have remained in Bethlehem for a fifth day. The town has been under almost constant military curfew since Sunday. A military commander said his soldiers would remain until their anti-terrorist mission was completed.
AP