17-year-old shot dead in Gaza clashes

They said he had been hit in the chest by a live bullet. Earlier, Israel Radio reported that a 60-year-old Palestinian man died in the West Bank overnight when Israeli settlers pelted him with rocks. Additional details were not immediately available.

By early Wednesday afternoon, some 25 Palestinians had been injured in clashes which were taking place in the Gaza Strip, at Karni, Khan Yunis and Rafiah. Meanwhile, Israeli forces have taken into custody 15 Palestinians who Israel says were involved in recent actions against Israel, Israel Radio reported.

Two Palestinians were wounded Wednesday morning, one of them critically, by an Israeli border policeman. Israel said the policeman discharged his rifle accidentally as the Palestinians were being questioned after a border police unit stopped a "suspicious" car near the town of Beit Shemesh, south-east of Jerusalem.

Elsewhere, Palestinian men used a petrol bomb to set a tanker truck alight near Bethlehem. The driver was able to flee. The Israeli forces were on alert in the occupied Palestinian areas while in Jerusalem, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak held a meeting with key cabinet members.

Tensions were expected to be high Wednesday as the Palestinians consider November 15 their "independence day". Yassir Arafat had declared Palestinian independence on November 15, 1988, in the Algerian capital Algiers.

There had been fears that the Palestinians might unilaterally declare their independence on Wednesday, but a senior Palestinian Authority official announced Tuesday that the Palestinian Central Council will not convene on November 15 and will not declare an independent Palestinian state.

"There will be no declaration of an independent Palestinian state in the coming few days, and the PLO Central Council will convene within the next two weeks," said Palestinian Minister of Information Yasser Abed Rabbo. The announcement was confirmed by Arafat.

(la/dpa)