Palestinian forces clash with gunmen; woman killed in Israel

NABLUS, West Bank (AP) — Israeli police say an 84-year-old woman has been beaten to death in central Israel, and they are searching for a young Palestinian man wanted in the killing. Tuesday’s killing came at a time of heightened violence. Earlier Tuesday, Palestinian security forces exchanged fire with militants in the center of the West Bank’s second-largest city as angry residents accused the forces of cooperating with Israel. One man was reported dead. Tuesday’s battle, sparked by an arrest raid against local militants, marked a rare case of deadly internal Palestinian fighting in the occupied West Bank. It also reflected the deep unpopularity of the Palestinian Authority, which is widely seen as collaborating with an entrenched system of Israeli military rule.