Israeli forces seized early Wednesday the West Bank city of Tulkarem and killed two Palestinian policemen, witnesses said. Another Palestinian was also wounded. Two Israeli soldiers were lightly wounded in the raid.
Five Islamic Jihad members were nabbed durin the Israeli operation, local reports said.
The Israeli army moved into this West Bank city in a predawn operation hours after an Islamic Jihad activist from the area blew himself up in the nearby Israeli town of Netanya, killing four women.
Witnesses said some 20 military vehicles swept into Tulkarem, which had been formally under Palestinian Authority security control as part of a calm declared by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Ariel Sharon in February.
In addition to the raid in Tulkarem, the Israeli army has imposed a closure on the Palestinian territories, for an indefinite time. Israel's Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz has also ordered to halt all talks between Israeli and Palestinian defense officials.
