A member of the Palestinian security forces was killed Sunday in clashes with armed Palestinians in the Jenin refugee camp in the occupied West Bank, Palestinian officials said.

For nearly two weeks, the city of Jenin in northern West Bank has seen intense fighting between armed groups and security forces of the Palestinian Authority (PA), which is based in Ramallah and exercises limited control over the territory.

''Saher Farouk Jumaa Erheil was killed this morning while performing his national duty,'' the Palestinian security forces said in a statement. The clashes began after a group of PA security forces came under fire from ''outlaws'' in Jenin camp, the statement added, noting that two other officers were injured.

Gunfire and explosions could be heard from the camp, according to an AFP photographer. Usually rare, clashes between Palestinian armed groups and PA security forces have increased in recent days. Three Palestinians, including a teenager, were killed in previous confrontations.

Tensions have escalated since earlier this month, when PA security forces arrested several armed men from areas around Jenin. The city and its refugee camp are strongholds of Palestinian armed factions that consider themselves more effective in resisting Israel than the PA, which holds partial administrative authority in the West Bank, occupied by Israel since 1967.

These clashes add to the growing violence in the West Bank since the Gaza war began on Oct. 7, 2023, following Hamas’s unprecedented attack on Israeli territory.