Israeli troops have killed two Islamic Jihad militants in a clash near the West Bank town of Jenin.
Islamic Jihad says one of the two militants who died in the gun battle was a top leader of the group, Nidal Abu Saada.
Israeli and Palestinian officials said Israeli troops had surrounded a house near Jenin in order to arrest the militants when gunfire broke out.
Islamic Jihad has carried out a string of recent suicide attacks in Israel.
Elsewhere in the West Bank, Israeli soldiers prepared to evict Jewish settlers and activists from a hilltop settlement, a section of Amona, near Ramallah. Hundreds of settler activists entered the area Tuesday in an attempt to resist the eviction, planned for Wednesday.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP and AP.
