Palestinians, soldier injured in Israeli raid on West Bank city

Israeli troops raided the northern West Bank city of Jenin and a refugee camp in the area, leading to a gun battle with Palestinians, local reports said on Monday.

The Palestinian news agency Maan said that around 40 Israeli military vehicles entered the area at night, in what was to be a large-scale arrest raid thought to be focused on capturing a senior official of the Islamic Jihad movement.

Israeli troops surrounded the house of the official and a gunfight ensued between the soldiers and Palestinian fighters, the report said, citing Palestinian security sources and locals.

During the raid, clashes broke out between stone-throwing youths and Israeli soldiers.

Five Palestinians were injured in the violence and hospitalised, the news agency said. There were initial reports that a number of Palestinians had been killed, but the mayor of Jenin has indicated that there is no confirmation of a death toll.

According to the Israeli news site Ynet, an Israeli soldier was injured by friendly fire during the raid. The site had initially reported that the soldier was shot by Palestinians. He was taken to a hospital for treatment.

The Ynet report said that troops had gathered to arrest Bassam Saadi, a senior Islamic Jihad official who was most recently released from Israeli prisons in 2011.

Soldiers also surrounded the home of the Abu al-Hija family, the Israeli news site said, on suspicion that the family has ties to Hamas' military wing.

It was not immediately clear if the arrests were carried out. 

An Israeli military spokeswoman confirmed to Middle East Eye that there was "an ongoing arrest raid" in Jenin, without providing further details.

The Israeli military has occupied the West Bank since 1967, and its soldiers conduct regular arrest raids in the Palestinian territory.