Fierce clashes have been reported in the northern West Bank city of Jenin as at least 40 Israeli tanks and jeeps converged on the city.
Troops backed by two Apache helicopters spread quickly through
the city, surrounding a building in which several gunmen from Islamic Jihad were said to be hiding.
Two bulldozers were also seen entering the city, which is known
for its fierce resistance to the Israeli occupation.
Two Palestinians were killed earlier in an Israeli air strike on a car in the northern Gaza refugee camp of Jabaliya. It is understood the car was carrying a senior member of the Palestinian militant group, the al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades.
Israeli warplanes have attacked cars carrying Palestinian militants in northern Gaza twice in the past week.
Earlier, Israeli cabinet ministers approved a proposed border crossing between Gaza and Egypt, to allow Palestinians to come and go freely.
The move comes after the removal of Israeli settlements in Gaza.
It will be the first time since Israel captured the West Bank and Gaza in 1967 that Palestinians will be allowed to enter and leave either territory without passing through Israeli controls.
Details still have to be finalised with the Palestinians and the plan has to be approved by the full Israeli cabinet.
