Description

RAMALLAH, West Bank — A Palestinian man was shot dead Friday in a clash with Israeli soldiers and Jewish settlers in the West Bank.

The shooting came at a time of heightened tensions over Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' bid later Friday to seek U.N. recognition for a state of Palestine .

The death was the type of incident that both Palestinians and Israelis had feared within the volatile diplomatic context, worried that it would touch off more widespread violence.

Friday's incident, witnessed by an AP reporter, began when some 200 Jewish settlers burned and uprooted trees Friday near the village of Qusra. Villagers threw stones at the settlers. Israeli troops arrived and fired tear gas, then live rounds. Settlers also fired their weapons.

The man killed was identified as 35-year-old Issam Badran. A Palestinian medic says he was shot in the neck. Another Palestinian was wounded and taken by the army.

Elsewhere, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz Daily reported clashes in East Jerusalem, where Palestinian youths threw rocks at Israeli security forces in the Ras Al-Amud neighborhood. at least one rock-thrower was detained by Israeli forces, the newspaper said.