Six killed in West Bank as Israeli troops clamp down

Tens of thousands of Palestinians have fled their homes since the West Bank operation began at the start of a ceasefire in Gaza

Five Palestinians, including a 60-year-old woman, were killed by Israeli forces in Jenin over the past 24 hours, the Palestinian Authority said on Tuesday, adding to a growing toll from one of the largest operations seen in the West Bank in years.

Another man, who was wanted over previous incidents, was killed by Palestinian security forces, the PA said in a separate statement.

The latest incidents bring the number of Palestinians killed since January, when Israeli forces launched a major operation involving thousands of troops in cities and refugee camps in the north of the West Bank, to more than 30.

Many of those killed have been armed fighters from Palestinian militant groups, but numerous uninvolved civilians have also been killed.

Tens of thousands of Palestinians have fled their homes since the West Bank operation began at the start of a ceasefire in Gaza. Troops have swept through refugee camps in Jenin and nearby cities, demolishing houses and infrastructure, including roads and water pipes.

Israel says the West Bank operation is aimed at hitting Iranian-backed militant groups, including Hamas and Islamic Jihad, that have made strongholds of the crowded townships built to house descendants of Palestinians who fled, or were forced from their homes in the 1948 Middle East war.

Countries including France and Germany and international groups including the United Nations have expressed alarm at the scale of the operation and called for restraint.

On Tuesday, police special forces fought a gun battle with armed Palestinians barricaded in a house in Jenin, killing two and wounding another man, the Israeli military said.

In a separate incident, a man who opened fire on Israeli troops was killed, it said.

The PA said troops firing from a checkpoint also killed a 60-year-old woman. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military.

The previous evening, a Palestinian man was killed when his motorcycle was hit by an Israeli army vehicle, the PA said.

The Authority also said its own security forces had killed a man wanted for opening fire on the headquarters of the security forces in Jenin on previous occasions, an incident that was condemned by the militant group Hamas, which warned of "serious repercussions".

On Tuesday, as gun battles were fought around the city, troops detained 10 Palestinians and seized two vehicles filled with weapons, the military said.

In a separate incident on Tuesday, armed Israeli settlers attacked the village of Umm Safa, near the main city of Ramallah, about 100 km (62 miles) south of Jenin, torching three vehicles, the head of the village council said.