JENIN: Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank killed five Palestinians on Monday, in a raid that saw seven Israeli security personnel wounded and rare helicopter fire.

The sound of gunfire was heard across Jenin as wounded Palestinians continued to arrive by ambulance to the northern West Bank city`s Ibn Sina hospitalinto the early afternoon, an AFP journalist said.

Crowds gathered outside Jenin government hospital, as the funerals of those killed in eleven hours of fighting began.

The Palestinian health ministry said five people had been killed and at least 91 others were wounded in the violence.

It identified four of those killed as Ahmed Sager, 15; Khaled Assassa, 21; Qais Jabareen, 21; Ahmad Daraghmeh, 19; and Q assam Abu Saria, 29.

The Palestinian Islamic Jihad said Abu Saria was its fighter.

Among the injured was Palestinian journalist Hazem Nasser, who was hospitalised with a gunshot wound, according to the Palestinian journalists`syndicate.

Jenin`s deputy governor, Kamal Abu al-Rub, said the Israeli forces had launched the raid at around 4:00am (0100 GMT).

`The army stormed the (Jenin refugee) camp and the city after the dawn prayer in large numbers, and there was intense gunfire,` he said.

An AFP journalist at the scene said Israeli forces withdrew from Jenin at around 15:10 (1210 GMT).

The Israeli army said its armoured vehicle had been hit by a `very unusual and dramatic` explosive device at around 7:10am (0410 GMT), during `routine activity` to arrest two `wanted suspects`.

`We had five Israeli border police guys wounded, and two soldiers also lightly wounded,` army spokesman Richard Hecht said.

The army said that an Apache helicopter had fired missiles in support of the soldiers, a rare move in the West Bank.

The United Nations rights chief, Volker Turk, said he was `extremely worried by the deteriorating situation`.

`Unlawful killings of Palestinians by the Israeli security forces have increased, including apparent extrajudicial executions,` he added.AFP