Palestinian dies as protests continue

Demonstrators evacuate one of the wounded

A Palestinian man has died from injuries caused by an Israeli rubber bullet, as demonstrations continue in the West Bank and Gaza.

The man was shot in the head on Friday in the West Bank town of Ramallah.

His death brings to five the number of Palestinians killed in a week of clashes, including several gunbattles, between Israelis and Palestinians.

At least 60 people have been injured in another day of protests and clashes on Saturday.

The Israeli Defence Force has called on Palestinian leaders to stop the violence or face harsh retaliation.

Demonstrators burn an effigy of Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak

About 200 Palestinians gathered on the streets of Ramallah, where they were locked in a violent stand-off with Israeli soldiers.

Stones and Molotov cocktails were thrown at the soldiers, who are responding with a steady stream of rubber bullets.

There have also been clashes in other parts of the West Bank - the heaviest in Hebron, where several hundred protesters took to the streets.

Prisoners

The protests are aimed at pressuring the Israeli government to release 1,650 Palestinian prisoners being held in Israeli jails.

Israel, which argues that many of the prisoners were involved in acts of violence against Israeli civilians, has said it has no plans to release anyone in the near future.

BBC Jerusalem correspondent Hilary Andersson says the clashes have so far had the effect of souring the atmosphere in the peace talks and reducing the chances of any concessions being made.

Palestinian protesters in the Gaza Strip

In Hebron, about 1,500 demonstrators marched toward an Israeli army checkpoint on Saturday as troops fired rubber bullets at hundreds of stone throwers.

Israeli soldiers shot and wounded 12 Palestinians after hundreds of youths threw stones at them on the outskirts of the West Bank town of Tulkarm.

The soldiers responded by firing rubber bullets and teargas.

In Gaza, where a gunfight on Friday between Israeli and Palestinian security forces wounded 10, Palestinian security forces were trying on Saturday to prevent demonstrators from reaching a key road junction near a Jewish settlement.

Barak reviews plans

At the beginning of the week, Israeli soldiers and Palestinian gunmen - some of them members of Yasser Arafat's security forces - fought long gun battles on the streets of the West Bank.

The anger which fuelled those engagements has not diminished and Israel's display of strength was designed to send a warning to the Palestinians not to attempt a repeat of Monday's clashes.

With heavy fighting also reported from southern Lebanon, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak is thinking about postponing or even cancelling a planned trip to the US.

He is due to meet President Clinton next week to discuss the peace process.