Israeli tanks fired their machineguns in the devastated Jenin refugee camp today as the army told Palestinian residents through loudspeakers that a curfew was in force, witnesses said.
Earlier, witnesses in Jenin had said about 50 Israeli tanks had left the West Bank city of Jenin and the nearby camp, two days after Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon had said the army would pull out in a couple of days .
A Reuters correspondent in the camp said it was not immediately clear what had prompted the tanks to open fire with their machineguns in the camp's streets.
The Israeli army had no immediate comment and it was not clear if troops had pulled out of the city or were redeploying, but a spokesman said the area remained a closed military zone.
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon had said on Monday that troops could leave Jenin within a couple of days .
Elsewhere Israeli troops and tanks swept into two West Bank villages today and a civilian was reported killed as US Secretary of State Colin Powell concluded his a seven-day peace mission.
Witnesses and local officials said soldiers shot dead Mr Anwar Nassar as he stood on his roof in the village of Bal'a, east of Tulkarm. Ambulances were not allowed in to retrieve his body.
The army said it would look into the report.
Witnesses said earlier that tanks had fired shells at the Palestinian National Security headquarters in Bal'a and also opened fire in Silat al-Harthiyah, north of Jenin.
Troops were searching houses, but it was not clear whether any occupants had been detained, the witnesses said.
Israeli military sources confirmed both operations were under way, saying they were aimed at seizing wanted militants.
The army said it had withdrawn from Askar refugee camp, near Nablus, after a one-day incursion.
Palestinians said curfews had been imposed on 14 other villages north and east of Jenin, affecting 35,000 people.
Israeli police moved overnight into Issawiyeh, a village attached to Arab east Jerusalem, and a police spokesman said a curfew had been imposed while houses were searched. Two people were detained and the curfew was lifted mid-morning.