Israelis in fresh West Bank raids

On a fifth day of raids, the Israelis stormed a block of flats and surrounded a mosque before pulling out of town.

Palestinian Prime Minister-designate Ismail Haniya has said Israel is trying to undermine a recent unity agreement between Palestinian factions.

Elsewhere in the West Bank, an Israeli man was shot and lightly injured.

The man was shot near the settlement of Tzofim, close to the Palestinian town of Qalqilya.

On Wednesday, Israeli troops killed three militants in a raid in Jenin.

Israel alleged that one of the men, all members of the Islamic Jihad group, was responsible for a failed suicide bomb attack in Tel Aviv last week.

The army says it has arrested 10 wanted militants in Nablus. One Palestinian civilian has been killed.

Mosque battle

The Israeli sweep through Nablus is the largest West Bank operation since July.

Troops exchanged fire with militants holed up in a mosque in the outlying Faraa refugee camp.

Other units regrouped around a residential building, surrounding it with Jeeps and armoured vehicles. They used loudspeakers to tell inhabitants to leave and several wanted men, who they said were present, to surrender.

After civilians poured out, Israeli soldiers rushed through the entrance and explosions were heard inside.

Local security sources say about 20 Palestinians, including many relatives of members of armed groups, were detained for questioning on Wednesday.

Nablus is the West Bank's second largest city and formerly a commercial hub, although more than six years of Israeli blockades and raids have destroyed much of its economic potential.

Israel says it is a militant stronghold and the source of many of the successful and attempted suicide bombings it has been subjected to.

The West Bank, including East Jerusalem, is home to about 2.5 million Palestinians, land occupied by Israel during the 1967 war.

There are also more than 100 Israeli settlements housing about 400,000 Jews.