West Bank woman killed by gunfire

Israel said its soldiers did not use their firearms in Balata

A Palestinian woman has been killed during an Israeli army incursion at the Balata refugee camp in the West Bank.

Witnesses told the Reuters news agency she was shot dead by Israeli soldiers - but Israel said its reports indicated none of its soldiers had opened fire.

Palestinian witnesses said the woman, 48, was shot by an Israeli patrol while trying to help her husband find a route home that avoided the troops.

Civilians often die in crossfire between Israeli and Palestinian forces.

According to the AFP news agency, the woman, named Aisha Abu M'Salaam, died in an exchange of fire between Israeli troops and Palestinian gunmen.

An army spokesman confirmed Israeli troops had been in the area but told AFP they had not opened fire.

An Israeli air strike killed a leading Islamic Jihad militant in his car in Gaza City on Saturday.

Three other people - a boy, his mother and grandmother - who were near the car also died in the attack.