almotamar.net google - Tel Aviv/Ramallah - Israel pulled most of its troops from Nablus early Tuesday, but declined to confirm whether it had ended a large-scale search-and-arrest raid in the northern West Bank city.
Witnesses said no soldiers were seen in the city by the morning and cement roadblocks which the troops had erected, blocking traffic to the historic centre where the operation had focused, had been removed.
The military also lifted a curfew imposed on residents living in the Casbah, or historic city heart, who emerged from their houses to inspect damage done during the operation. Schools and shops in the busy market area also reopened.
A military spokesman nevertheless would not confirm whether the two-day operation had ended, saying he was unable to 'comment on troop movement.'
One Palestinian has been killed since Israel launched the operation Sunday morning, targeting militants believed to be planning suicide bombings and producing explosives belts in the city known as a stronghold of the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades militant group.
Palestinians said the fatality was a 42-year-old civilian.
Some five people who appear on Israel's list of wanted Palestinians have been arrested, two of whom belong to the al-Aqsa Brigades and one to the radical Islamic Jihad group, the army said.
The two others did not belong to any armed group, the spokesman said. He added the troop had found three explosives laboratories and several weapons caches.