Israeli forces have invaded the Palestinian town of Bethlehem and are assaulting a major Palestinian security headquarters outside Ramallah. 

Israeli tanks and helicopter gunships blasted the hilltop compound of the Palestinian Preventive Security service in Beituniyah. Buildings in the compound were on fire. The fate of some 400 people in the compound is unclear. 

West Bank security chief Jibril Rajoub said he had ordered his men to resist. But there are later reports of a cease-fire being negotiated and of some men surrendering to the Israelis. 

Israel says wanted militants were being sheltered in the compound - a charge Mr. Rajoub denied. 

In Bethlehem, Israeli troops exchanged fire with Palestinians near the Church of the Nativity, built over the traditional birthplace of the Christian messiah. 

The Roman Catholic Missionary Service News Agency says an Italian priest was killed during the fighting in Bethlehem, but church officials later said the priest named in the report is alive. 

A Palestinian woman and her son were killed by tank fire in their Bethlehem home. Another Palestinian woman was killed outside Ramallah Hospital. 

Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat remains trapped inside his headquarters in Ramallah, where he has been closely surrounded by Israeli forces since Friday. 

The morgue of Ramallah Hospital is overflowing with bodies of more than 25 Palestinians killed during the Israeli invasion. The Israeli army says it detained 700 Palestinians during house-to-house searches in Ramallah. Israeli troops are also operating in Tulkarm, Qalqilya and several villages near Nablus. 

Some information for this report provided by AP and AFP.

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