An Israeli soldier was killed during a fierce gunbattle with Palestinian fighters in the West Bank town of Jenin early this morning.
The gunbattle erupted after a number of houses were surrounded by Israeli forces.
One fighter was apprehended early on in the gunbattle, and four others surrendered later on.
Fighters in Jenin said between four and six militants from Islamic Jihad and the Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades had been cornered in the houses.
Palestinian gunmen immediately took to the streets, exchanging fire with Israeli troops.
Palestinian students threw stones at Israeli soldiers, and an army bulldozer tried to disperse the crowd. Soldiers took over homes in the area, taking up position and fighting with gunmen.
The Jenin operation came two days after the army conducted a dramatic prison raid in the West Bank town of Jericho, seizing six militants, including a man Israel claims was responsible for the 2001 assassination of an Israeli Cabinet minister.
AP