Five Palestinians, including four wanted men, were killed yesterday in clashes with Israel Defense Forces troops in Nablus. Two soldiers were wounded, one moderately and one lightly.

Military sources said the fifth victim was shot while throwing a Molotov cocktail at troops.

The IDF's Northern Glory operation in Nablus yesterday focused on the Balata refugee camp and terror networks operating from there. The clashes occurred as troops searched for wanted men headed by Mohammed Shatiwi, a senior member of Fatah's Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades in the Nablus area.

The first incident took place in the early morning, when soldiers surrounded a number of buildings in which Shatiwi was hiding with other wanted men. The soldiers stormed one of the buildings and began to conduct searches, eventually locating Shatiwi and two of his aides.

Shatiwi opened fire first, injuring two of the soldiers. The troops then returned fire, killing the three men, who were subsequently identified as Shatiwi, Mohammed Amar and Abu Ali Samiri.

The gunfight also resulted in injuries to three members of a Palestinian ambulance crew who were in the area. One of the Palestinian medics sustained serious wounds. Physicians for Human Rights condemned the incident, terming it a violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention.

IDF sources said that gunfire had not been directed at the ambulance crew, and that the medics may have been injured simply because they were too close to the action.

IDF Colonel Yuval Bazak said Shatiwi had been one of the army's primary targets in Nablus over the past two years, and that he had been personally involved in the death of three Israelis.

The fourth Palestinian fatality was killed close to the building in which Shatiwi and his aides were located. Bazak said the Palestinian was a known wanted man, and had arrived in the area armed with the intention of harming soldiers who were carrying out the operation. A sniper force in the area spotted him and killed him.

In another incident, a clash broke out in the Dahia neighborhood when a military jeep got stuck and Palestinians threw firebombs and rocks at troops. One of the soldiers opened fire at the group of Palestinians, killing Ibrahim Sa'id, 19. Sa'id's relatives said he was shot three times, despite being unarmed.

According to the IDF, Sa'id had hurled Molotiv cocktails at the troops.

El ewhere in the territories yesterday, five Qassam rockets were fired from the northern Gaza Strip toward the northern Negev. One landed close to Ashkelon. There were no reports of injuries.