Palestinian 'knifeman' shot dead

The violence comes as Palestinians mark 1948 dispossession

Israeli troops have shot dead a Palestinian at a military checkpoint near the West Bank town of Tulkarm.

Military officials said the man tried to stab a solder and was killed after he ignored warning shots.

The Israeli army turned over control of Tulkarm to Palestinian security forces in March but it maintains road blocks in some areas outside the town.

Israel has said it will let Palestinian police bear arms in West Bank towns for the first time since 2000.

The move boosts Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, who argues it is necessary if he is to clamp down on armed militants in line with Israel's demands.

Armed Palestinian police will operate in Nablus, Hebron, Ramallah and Jenin, as well as Jericho and Tulkarm - where the Palestinian Authority is already responsible for security, an Israeli army spokesman said.

Security sources are also quoted as saying there is also a tacit agreement for police to carry weapons in the two other West Bank regions of Bethlehem and Qalqilya.

Ceasefire breaches

The shooting incident at the Jbara checkpoint outside Tulkarm is the latest to strained an informal ceasefire between Israel and the Palestinians that has broadly held for about three months.

On Sunday, four Israelis suffered minor injuries when an anti-tank rocket was fired at them as they worked on a fence along the Gaza-Egypt border.

In later violence, troops shot and wounded two Palestinians near Ramallah said to have been throwing firebombs at an Israeli vehicle.

In another development, Israeli officials said on Monday that construction on the West Bank separation barrier will commence around the largest Jewish settlement in the next two weeks.

The controversial Israeli plans for Maale Adumim include 3,500 new homes for Jews between the settlement and Jerusalem - connecting the two areas and separating Arab east Jerusalem from the West Bank.

Israel has occupied the West Bank, Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem since capturing them during the 1967 war.