The ruling party in the West Bank, Fatah, boasted this week about having killed 11,000 Israelis in what was seen as an attempt to boost its popularity ahead of upcoming Palestinian municipal elections on October 8.

Fatah, which is led by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, made the claim on its official Facebook page. The party listed other achievements, such as losing 170,000 "martyrs" and being the first group to launch attacks in the First and Second Intifadas.

It also took the credit for leading the Palestinian campaign against Israel at the UN.

Much of the Fatah Facebook page is devoted to criticising its main electoral rival, Hamas.