A Palestinian teenager is reported to have been killed and two others wounded by Israeli gunfire near a Jewish settlement close to the West Bank town of Ramallah.
Palestinian medical sources said one of the injured was in a serious condition.
The incident is reported to have happened on a road used by Jewish settlers near Shilo, 15km northeast of Ramallah.
The Israeli military told wire services that troops had opened fire on several Palestinians they saw planting a suspicious object, and that troops' efforts to treat one victim had failed to prevent his death.
The Israeli military said that the victim was not armed and that troops are still trying to identify the nature of the suspicious object, but did not give details about the fate of other figures intially spotted by troops.
Meanwhile, the US Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, has said the US would have practical problems dealing with Hamas after the Palestinian election because of its US classification as a terrorist group.
Asked whether the US could work with Hamas if it makes a strong showing Wednesday's vote, Ms Rice said there were problems because the Islamic group did not recognize Israel and had not renounced violence.
'In addition to the fact that the United States won't change its policies towards Hamas, the practical problem is that the (current) Palestinian leadership in the roadmap is committed to a renunciation of violence, committed to dismantling terrorist organizations, committed to a peaceful road,' Ms Rice said.
Hamas raises idea of indirect talks
Earlier, a Hamas leader raised the possibility of indirect negotiations with Israel, in a softening of the militant group's stance ahead of the election.
The shift by Mahmoud al-Zahar came on the final day of official campaigning before the vote, which could catapult the movement into its first role in Palestinian government.
He said that means could be found to hold talks, citing the contacts the Lebanese militant group, Hizbollah, has held with Israel via German mediators for the release of Lebanese held in Israeli jails.
Israel and the United States have long refused any dialogue with Hamas amid the group's suicide bombing campaign and its call in its charter for the destruction of the Jewish state.
A senior Israeli official is reported to have said that talks could not be considered until Hamas stops terrorism and rescinds its call for the destruction of Israel.
Most opinion polls show Hamas trailing the Fatah movement of the Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas, but the margin has narrowed to a few percentage points.
