Israeli forces 'kill four Palestinians in West Bank'

No Israeli casualties during the incident in the city of Jenin says Israeli police

RAMALLAH, WEST BANK:

Israeli forces on a raid in the occupied West Bank exchanged fire on Monday with Palestinian gunmen, Israeli police claimed, while a Palestinian local official said at least four Palestinians were killed.

The incident occurred in the city of Jenin, where, Israeli police alleged in a statement, special forces disguised as Palestinians came under heavy fire from "a large number" of attackers while on a mission to detain a militant.

"The undercover forces returned fire towards the terrorists and neutralised them," the police said.

On Voice of Palestine radio, Jenin's governor said at least four Palestinians were killed. Israeli police said there were no Israeli casualties.

Israel captured the West Bank in a 1967 Middle East war, and Palestinians seek the territory as well as the Gaza Strip for a future state with East Jerusalem as its capital.

The Palestinian Authority, set up under interim peace accords with Israel in the 1990s, exercises limited self-rule in the West Bank, but Israeli forces are dominant in the area, where they often carry out raids to detain suspected militants.