Deadly gunbattles erupt in West Bank

The clashes in Nablus, which residents said were the fiercest for around six months, broke out during an operation in which around 20 jeeps roared into the northern city at daybreak before leaving in late morning.

As the troops fanned out across the city, they were first attacked by stone-throwing youths and then by Palestinian gunmen.

Doctors at Nablus's main hospital named the dead man as 22-year-old Hossam Saqer who had been shot in the head by the Israeli soldiers.

The other 25 were wounded by a combination of live fire and rubber-coated bullets, the medics said.

The Israeli military said two of its soldiers were hit by shrapnel from an explosive device that was thrown at them.

"There have been numerous incidents of Palestinian gunmen shooting at the forces. In some cases the forces returned fire," an army spokeswoman told AFP.

"In addition there have been numerous incidents of Palestinians throwing rocks, but the forces have not returned fire in those instances.

Another military source refused to explain the purpose of the operation, describing it as "part of the operations against the general terrorist infrastructure in Nablus."

The army has made a series of arrests in the northern West Bank following a suicide bombing 10 days ago in the Israeli coastal city of Netanya.

Nablus is regarded as a stronghold for a number of armed factions and will become an electoral battleground on Thursday when voters cast their ballot in a municipal election piting the radical Islamists of Hamas against the ruling Fatah movement.