At least one Palestinian and an Israeli soldier were killed early Friday during a clash in the West Bank city of Nablus. According to Palestinian sources, Israeli troops set off blasts that tore into a building in the city. Eyewitnesses said Israeli troops were ambushed during an arrest raid, with Palestinians opening fire and throwing hand grenades. In addition to the dead soldier, at least two other Israeli troops were wounded. Witnesses said amid the shooting they heard four large blasts that tore into the five-story building. People in the area said soldiers removed the body of one man from the building. Four residents took the man's body and laid him nearby, a witnesses told the AP. According to some reports, the killed Palestinian was identified as Muhammad Yusuf ak Hanbaly, a top Hamas military operative in Nablus. The blasts came amid a gunbattle that lasted more than two hours between troops and at least one Palestinian holed up in the building. Soldiers ordered all residents out of the building during the siege, and some left. At least one Palestinian and an Israeli soldier were killed early Friday during a clash in the West Bank city of Nablus. According to Palestinian sources, Israeli troops set off blasts that tore into a building in the city. Eyewitnesses said Israeli troops were ambushed during an arrest raid, with Palestinians opening fire and throwing hand grenades. In addition to the dead soldier, at least two other Israeli troops were wounded. Witnesses said amid the shooting they heard four large blasts that tore into the five-story building. People in the area said soldiers removed the body of one man from the building. Four residents took the man's body and laid him nearby, a witnesses told the AP. According to some reports, the killed Palestinian was identified as Muhammad Yusuf ak Hanbaly, a top Hamas armed-wing operative in Nablus. The blasts came amid a gunbattle that lasted more than two hours between troops and at least one Palestinian holed up in the building. Soldiers ordered all residents out of the building during the siege, and some left. **Abbas Facing Tough Test of Leadership*** It was a sign of the mounting pressure on Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas - a crowd of staunch Yasser Arafat supporters outside Abbas' office were a vocal reminder that it is the Palestinian president who really rules the hearts and minds of many in the West Bank and Gaza. The ongoing power struggle between them prompted Abbas to call on the Palestinian parliament to back him, or sack him. The prime minister stopped short of a confidence vote, instead deciding to put his case to lawmakers in a closed session on Saturday. But Abbas' aim is to strengthen his hand by taking control of Palestinian security from Arafat. Underlining Abbas' troubles was the claim by a group aligned to Arafat's Fatah faction that it was behind the killing of an Israeli soldier in the West Bank. **PHOTO CAPTION*** A seven-storey building is detonated by the Zionist army in Nablus. Sep, 05, 2003 (AFP/Jaafar Ashtiyeh)