Jerusalem ? Israeli troops fired tank shells and machine guns Saturday, killing a Palestinian woman and her 13-year-old daughter working on a farm in the Gaza Strip, Palestinian witnesses and doctors said. The army said the two were in a prohibited area near the Israeli border.

As night fell, Israeli troops in armored personnel carriers rolled into the Palestinian city of Bethlehem and surrounded the house of an Islamic militant, Palestinian witnesses and Israeli military sources said.

Also Saturday, Israel’s army pulled out of the Tulkarem refugee camp in the West Bank, ending a two-day incursion that uncovered guns and explosives and led to the arrests of about 25 Palestinians suspects, the army said.

But only hours later, the troops went back into the camp and into the town of Tulkarem, Palestinian witnesses said. A Palestinian was killed by Israeli gunfire early this morning, they said. Tulkarem is just inside the West Bank and Palestinian militants have launched many attacks from the town.

In Bethlehem, the troops seized much of the city, imposed a curfew and surrounded the home of Mohammed Shehade, a local leader of the Islamic Jihad group, which has claimed responsibility for numerous suicide bombings.

Palestinian residents heard explosions coming from the area around Shehade’s house, but there were no immediate reports on casualties.

There was no word on how long the army was likely to stay in Bethlehem, just south of Jerusalem.

Israel completed a major military sweep through the West Bank several weeks ago, but the army continues to carry out almost daily raids in pursuit of suspected militants. Most of the incursions last a day or two at most, and in some cases, only hours.

Israeli troops occupied Bethlehem for more than six weeks in April and early May, surrounding Palestinian gunmen who holed up in the Church of the Nativity, the traditional site of Jesus’ birth. The standoff ended when 13 gunmen were sent into exile and 26 to Gaza.

In the Gaza shooting, the army said soldiers fired on two “suspicious figures” because they were in an area off limits to Palestinians and were moving toward the border fence with Israel, military sources said.

Palestinians have attempted to launch attacks in the area seven times in the past month, the sources said.

Marwan Abu Said, a Palestinian witness and a relative of those shot, said the soldiers fired from three tanks patrolling the border, next to the flat, open field. He said he was not aware of any provocation that prompted the fire.

Kamla Abu Said, 42, was killed, along with her daughter, Amna, 13.