Thousands today attended the funeral of the Palestinian faction leader assassinated in an Israeli missile attack yesterday. Abu Ali Mustafa was killed in the West Bank town of Ramallah.
Meanwhile, the Israeli army has said that its troops would remain in Beit Jala for as long as necessary. The troops moved into the West Bank town overnight after the nearby Jewish settlement of Gilo came under renewed Palestinian fire.
Senior Palestinian official Yasser Abed Rabbo told the Reuters news agency that an Israeli move into a Palestinian-ruled town equalled a reoccupation.
Mr Rabbo said that this was a new stage in the gradual escalation carried out by the Israeli Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon. He said: "This is the phase of reoccupation, therefore on the ground he has practically paved the way for war. We have every right in the world to resist occupation."
A Palestinian policeman died after being shot by Israeli troops in clashes in Beit Jala. An Israeli soldier was also injured in the raid. Mr Sharon had previously said that he would not tolerate attacks on Gilo. Israel regards the town as a suburb of Jerusalem.
The United States has called on Israel to withdraw its forces from the town. State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said: "The Israelis need to understand that incursions like this will not solve the security problems, they only make matters worse."
In a separate operation, Israeli troops and tanks also forced their way into the Rafah refugee camp in the Gaza Strip where a building was destroyed and a fierce gun battle broke out.
Earlier today, a mortar shell was fired on a school in East Jerusalem. It caused damage but no casualties. An advisor to Mr Sharon blamed the Palestinian Authority for the incident.
