A Palestinian bomber blew himself up and Israeli forces killed two Palestinians in clashes on Thursday in the occupied West Bank, security sources and Palestinian witnesses said.
The flare-up in the town of Jenin broke a relative lull in Israeli-Palestinian violence since Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon suffered a massive stroke last week.
An Israeli security source said troops were on a raid to arrest militants in Jenin when a Palestinian emerged from a house and blew himself up.
The source said the bomber was apparently wearing an explosive belt. There were no Israeli casualties.
In a separate incident in Jenin, Israeli soldiers shot a Palestinian militant during an exchange of fire with gunmen, the Israeli security source said. A Palestinian security source said the man was killed.
Palestinian witnesses said another Palestinian was also killed during clashes with Israeli forces in the area. Israeli officials had no immediate comment.