JERUSALEM?Israeli forces maintained their grip Thursday on West Bank towns but pulled out of a village where a raid a day earlier sparked a bloody gunbattle in which five Palestinians were killed.

Amid growing U.S. criticism, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon convened his top Cabinet ministers to consider ending the weeklong invasion, which has killed dozens of people but failed to net the assassins of Rehavam Zeevi, the ultra-nationalist minister of tourism.

A day after the Oct. 17 assassination, Israeli troops moved into parts of six West Bank towns, and violence continued in some of those areas Thursday. Four Palestinians were killed in incidents in Bethlehem and Tulkarem.

Israeli troops pulled out of the village of Beit Rima, where villagers were confined to their homes for more than a day while Israeli soldiers searched for those who killed Zeevi.