Israeli forces have shot dead a local Hamas military commander in the northern West Bank.
Iyad Shilbaya, a commander of the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, was killed during a raid to arrest him, the Israeli military said.
Hamas’s military wing said it was responsible for the killing at the end of August of four Jewish settlers in the West Bank.
It is not clear whether Shibaya was a suspect in these killings.
Recent weeks have seen an increase in rocket fire from Gaza into Israel and a series of Israeli air raids on the territory.
Hamas is opposed to the US-sponsored talks, launched in Washington on 2 September, between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, led by Mahmoud Abbas.
Differing accounts of the shooting at the Nur Shams refugee camp in Tulkarm are emerging.
According to Palestinian reports, the brother of the Hamas militant was forced to lead the Israeli soldiers to the house Shibaya was staying in. The brother is reported to have said that the militant was shot three times while asleep and his body taken away by the soldiers.
An Israeli military spokesperson said Shilbaya was shot “during a routine arrest raid”. Soldiers opened fire after Shilbaya came towards them despite being told to halt, the military official said.
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