A Palestinian accused of collaborating with Israel was shot dead in the West Bank today. According to a Palestinian source the man was killed near an Israeli army checkpoint between Jerusalem and Ramallah. However Israeli army radio said that the man was killed by members of the Tanzim militia of Palestinian leader, Yasser Arafat's Fatah movement.
Meanwhile, reports from the West Bank say a convoy accompanying the United Nations Human Rights Commissioner, Mary Robinson, has come under fire during a visit to the city of Hebron. It was unclear who fired at the three-vehicle convoy. There were no reports of injuries. The former President of Ireland is touring the West Bank and Gaza to investigate complaints by Palestinians that Israeli soldiers have been using excessive force against Palestinian stone-throwers and gunmen during the last seven weeks of unrest. Ms Robinson is due to meet the Palestinian leader, Yasser Arafat, on Wednesday.
Ms Robinson was not in the car hit by the bullet. The shooting erupted shortly after Israeli soldiers and Palestinian gunmen exchanged fire in a nearby area of Hebron, one of the flashpoints in the violence. The Israeli army said that Palestinian gunmen opened fire at Ms Robinson's car. Palestinian police near the scene said militant Jewish settlers fired at the convoy in an Israeli-controlled part of the town, near the Jewish settlement of Tel Rumeida. Noam Arnon, a spokesman for Jewish settlers in Hebron, denied they were involved in the incident.
About 400 militant Jewish settlers live in the heart of the West Bank town amidst some 120,000 Palestinians. At least 206 people, all but 20 of them Palestinians, have been killed in seven weeks of the worst violence between Israelis and Palestinians in recent years.
