Militant released after Israeli raid

The Israelis say they are doing Mr Arafat's work for him

Palestinian police have released a jailed Hamas member after thousands of angry protesters besieged the police station where he was being held in the West Bank town of Nablus.

The men were killed in cold blood

Nablus governor

The demonstration followed a brief Israeli raid in which troops shot dead four members of the militant Islamic group - one of them the brother of the man set free.

Police fired shots into the crowd, who threw stones, attacked vehicles and tried to set the police station on fire, demanding further releases. Several people were injured.

The Hamas military wing has issued a statement vowing to wage war against Israel on all fronts.

One of the group's political leaders said it should reconsider its freeze on suicide attacks in Israel - a decision made in response to a call by Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat in December.

Israeli officials say the men were killed in a gun battle during an overnight raid on an explosives laboratory in the al-Majeen district, about half a kilometre from the centre of Nablus.

Palestinians say the four were assassinated.

"The men were killed in cold blood. They raided an apartment and killed people in their beds in the early morning," Nablus Governor Mahmud al-Alul told Reuters.

The army denied the charge. Nine people were arrested in the raid.

Tulkarm pull-out

On Tuesday morning, Israeli troops and tanks pulled out of Tulkarm, another West Bank town, which they had taken over a day earlier in the biggest operation of its kind since the Palestinian uprising began 16 months ago.

Palestinians heard explosions, then shots

Israeli officials say the tanks will stay on the outskirts of Tulkarm and continue to seal off the town, after what they called a successful operation against Palestinian militants.

Israel says the incursions are in response to an attack last Friday in the coastal town of Hadera, in which a Palestinian gunman, said to be from Tulkarm, killed six Israelis and injured 30.

Over the past 16 months, Israeli troops have repeatedly seized neighbourhoods in Palestinian towns for limited periods.

Israel says it is going after Palestinian militants because Mr Arafat will not.

The Palestinians say Israel is trying to further weaken Mr Arafat's authority.

They argue that he cannot keep the militants quiet indefinitely if Israel keeps up provocative military operations.