Six Palestinians, including an elderly Palestinian woman, were killed by Israeli army fire on Thursday in the occupied West Bank, medics said. The Health Ministry said two people, including an 80-year-old woman, lost their lives in an Israeli raid in the Balata refugee camp in Nablus city in the northern West Bank.

Palestinian security forces have launched a rare crackdown against local militant groups in the northern West Bank.

Palestinian Authority security forces have battled Islamist fighters in Jenin for days, as they wrestle to exert control of one of the historic centres of militancy in the West Bank ahead of a likely shakeout in Palestinian politics after the Gaza war.

An elderly Palestinian was killed and two other people were injured by Israeli army fire on Thursday in the occupied West Bank, medics said. The Health Ministry said an 80-year-old woman was shot in the chest and leg and died of her wounds during an Israeli raid in the Balata refugee camp in Nablus city in the northern West Bank.

The rare move by the Palestinian Authority, who govern pockets of the Israeli- occupied West Bank, was justified to remove Iran-backed militant groups causing "chaos."View on euronews

The Palestinian government has been carrying out a rare and lethal sweep against militants in a flashpoint West Bank city, saying it was needed to foil an imminent car-bombing and other attacks.

In the past week, the Palestinian Authority has made its most intense show of force in years. Its security forces have surrounded and are attacking the occupied West Bank city of Jenin and its refugee camp,

At least one person was killed as Palestinian security forces clashed with Palestinian militants and set up checkpoints on Saturday in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin, residents and medics said.

Gaza Palestinian Authority security forces continued fighting militants in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin on Monday, amid a recent series of rare deadly raids that have sharply escalated tensions between the region’s residents and the PA.

Palestinians plead for unity and an end to clashes between Palestinian Authority forces and fighters in the Jenin refugee camp.