The Israeli army from the West Bank city of Nablus early today after a three-day operation that saw the city's 50,000 inhabitants placed under curfew.
The raid was the largest military operation in the West Bank in months and left tens of thousands of residents in the city's centre confined to their homes while troops searched houses and alleys.
Adli Yaish, the mayor of Nablus, said the Israeli forces were gone and called on residents to resume their normal lives. Israel refused to confirm the operation was over.
Nablus district governor Kamal Sheikh said he feared the army had only briefly halted the operation and that it would soon resume.
A Palestinian man (42) was killed in the operation. The army claimed he was killed when troops fired at figures moving on the roof of a building they said were acting suspiciously and where they later found a weapon.
Palestinians said the man was unarmed when he was shot from a passing jeep.
The incursion into Palestinian territory was roundly condemned with Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat, who said the offensive would "undermine the efforts" by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to maintain a ceasefire with Israel.
Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas condemned "the criminal Israeli assault on Nablus," saying it was designed to undermine Palestinian efforts to form a coalition government.
Israel said the Nablus raid was necessary because most of the suicide bombers trying to enter Israel from the West Bank come from the city.
The Israeli army said its troops arrested five militants and uncovered workshops used to make explosive devices and bomb belts, as well as a studio where suicide bombers recorded their farewell statements.
AP