Palestinians clash in West Bank

In the Gaza Strip, an explosion on Friday rocked the Rafah refugee camp, wounding three people, including two 14-year-old boys and a 6-month-old baby, witnesses said.

Hospital officials said the two older children were playing with an old explosive device when it went off.

The cause of the Nablus firefight on Friday was not immediately known, but tensions between Palestinian authorities and resistance groups have been rising in recent days. There were no reports of injuries.

Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas has been trying to strike a delicate balance between reining in resistance groups through persuasion and fending off calls from Israel and the international community for a crackdown.

Positions

Witnesses in Nablus said at least six fighters took up positions outside the police station and began shooting, prompting police to return fire.

The witnesses said the fighters were affiliated with Abbas' ruling Fatah movement.

This week, tensions between the Palestinian Authority and the al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, a resistance group linked with Fatah, erupted into a confrontation in the nearby town of Jenin.

The incident occurred as the Palestinian interior minister was visiting Jenin.

A popular local fighter, irate that the minister had come to the town without his permission, opened fire on a building where he was holding meetings.

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