Israelis detain Barghouti's son

Marwan Barghouti is being tried in connection with 26 Israeli deaths

Israel has confirmed it is holding the eldest son of jailed Palestinian political leader Marwan Barghouti.

Qassam, 19, was stopped on Wednesday as he entered the West Bank from Jordan.

In a separate incident, the Israeli army said it had foiled an attempted Palestinian militant attack in Gaza by shooting a man dead.

The event came a day after Palestinian leaders cancelled a planned meeting with Israeli figures in protest at an Israeli incursion in Gaza on Tuesday.

Senior figures on both sides have been trying to arrange a meeting between Prime Minister Ariel Sharon of Israel and Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei.

Efforts to bring Sharon and Qurei together have foundered

But following the raid in Gaza which left nine people dead, Palestinians withdrew from the planning meeting scheduled for Wednesday.

"It is very difficult to hold a meeting on the same day as the funerals [of the Palestinians who were killed in the raid]," Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said.

Israel said the raid was intended to close down tunnels used by Palestinian militants to smuggle weapons from Egypt into Gaza.

The man who was killed on Thursday, was shot as he crawled towards a bloc of Jewish settlements in Gaza, and found to be carrying explosives.

Islamic Jihad said he was a member of the militant group and named him as Mohammed Akram al-Dosuki, 22.

Qassam Barghouti - whose father is on trial in Israel, accused of involvement in the deaths of 26 Israelis - is reportedly being held in the Ofer prison, near Ramallah.

His father, Marwan, denies that Israel has the right to try him.