Israel lifts weeks-long lockdown as Palestinian killed in clash

The Israeli army on Thursday lifted a weeks-long lockdown on the West Bank city of Nablus, as troops shot dead a Palestinian in clashes elsewhere in the occupied territory, officials said.

"In accordance to a routine situational assessment in Judea and Samaria (the West Bank), it has been decided that the general closure that was imposed on the entrances and exits to Nablus will be lifted," a statement from the army said.

A military spokesperson told AFP the lockdown had been lifted at 4am (0200 GMT).

The army had sealed the city on October 11 after Palestinian gunmen of the Lions' Den group, a loose coalition of fighters not aligned with established Palestinian factions, killed an Israeli soldier near the settlement of Shavei Shomron.

The group was behind approximately 20 attacks on Israeli troops and civilians over the past month, according to the army.

The army intensified raids inside the city as Israel pursued Lions' Den members, with an October 25 operation killing five people, including what Israel said was the group's leader. 

Reports said other members handed themselves over to Palestinian security forces in recent days.

The sweeping closure of Nablus had restricted...