Until now, the violence has been between the Israeli security forces and Palestinian demonstrators; at least another 50 Palestinians were wounded by Israeli soldiers firing rubber-coated steel bullets on Monday.

But in the city of Nablus, Palestinian police fired on a crowd reportedly protesting about the heavy-handed treatment of women demonstrating to secure the release of their sons from Israeli prisons.

The police action was seen by correspondents as the first sign that Palestinians may be seeking to contain violence ahead of US President Bill Clinton's forthcoming visit.

BBC Jerusalem Correspondent Lyse Doucet says the demonstrators are determined to sustain the violent tide of protest until Bill Clinton arrives.

Israeli soldiers opened fire with teargas and rubber-coated bullets on several hundred Palestinians in Bethlehem. There were similar clashes in Hebron and near Ramallah.

The BBC's Jeremy Bowen in Jerusalem: The Wye agreement "is crumbling very fast"

In Nablus the clashes were reportedly provoked by heavy-handed police treatment of mothers of prisoners demonstrating to secure the release of their sons from Israeli prisons.

Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has escaped a vote to call early elections thanks to a parliamentary manoeuvre, which will delay the issue for two weeks.

More than 50 are reported to have been injured

Palestinian protesters have been clashing with Israeli troops regularly since Israel last month released 250 prisoners as promised under the Wye peace accord. But the Palestinians say more than half were common criminals rather than political prisoners.

Meanwhile, there are reports that a mass hunger strike by the prisoners themselves has now spread to more Israeli jails.

A prisoners' association said the hunger strike now included all 3,000 Palestinians in Israeli jails, although the Israeli Prisons Service said it knows of only 514 taking part.

Netanyahu accuses Arafat of lying

Israeli spokesman David Bar-Illan: "We are not going to release anyone with blood on their hands"

On Sunday, the Israeli Prime Minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, accused the Palestinian leader, Yasser Arafat, of lying to his own people about the prisoner issue.

Mr Netanyahu said he had already made it clear he would not free Palestinian prisoners with "blood on their hands", and the Palestinians knew that.

Mr Netanyahu also said that he would not transfer any more land to Palestinian control until Mr Arafat agreed with Israel's interpretation of the agreement on prisoner releases.

Palestinian minister Nabil Shaath: "I think Mr Netanyahu is lying"

He added that Mr Arafat would also have to promise not to declare a Palestinian state next May.

Mr Arafat reacted scornfully to the accusations. He said Israel had no right to issue instructions to the Palestinians.

Clinton flying into row

The tension has risen as President Clinton prepares to visit Israel to shore up the troubled interim peace agreement, signed in October.

Mr Clinton's visit, which begins on Saturday, is to be coupled with a stop in the Gaza Strip, the first by a sitting US president.

The US has repeatedly said the trip is not intended as an endorsement of Palestinian statehood aspirations, but correspondents say the Palestinians see it as a powerful boost to their sovereignty hopes.