Palestinians carry the coffin of Kadim

JENIN, West Bank, July 21 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - A Palestinian was shot dead in an exchange of fire with the Israeli army east of the West Bank town on Jenin on Sunday night, July 20, as Palestinian prime minister Mahmmoud Abbas is beginning in Cairo Monday, July 21, an intensive round of international diplomacy which would culminate in his first ever trip to the White House later in the week.

The incident happened near the Israeli settlement of Kadim and the victim was named as Rami Hubeizi, a member of the resistance group Islamic Jihad, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported according to Palestinian security sources.

But Israeli military sources said that Kadim was killed while detonating an explosive charge as an Israeli army patrol passed by and not by Israeli gunfire. The patrol also came under automatic rifle fire but did not respond, the sources added. No Israeli casualties were reported.

The death brings to 3,382 the number of people killed since the start of the Palestinian Intifada against the Israeli occupation, at the end of September 2000, including 2,549 Palestinians and 772 Israelis.

The incident came as the Palestinian premier left overnight from the West Bank town of Ramallah for the Jordanian capital Amman, from where he would take a plane to Egypt for talks with President Hosni Mubarak.

He was due to return to Amman on Tuesday, July 22, for talks with King Abdullah before departing for Washington where he is due to arrive on Wednesday night, July 23.

Abbas is due to hold talks with U.S. President George W. Bush on Friday, July 25.

Both Abbas and his Israeli counterpart Ariel Sharon ended talks Sunday without a commitment from Israel to release more Palestinian prisoners in its jails.

Instead the two sides agreed to form a joint committee which would "consider" the numbers of Palestinian prisoners who should be released from Israeli jails.

The Israeli government said Sunday night that an Israeli ministerial commission would meet Wednesday, July 23, to establish a list of Palestinian prisoners who will be freed from Israeli jails, the government announced on Sunday.

On Saturday, July 19, a senior U.S. official stressed Israel was not doing enough regarding Palestinian prisoner releases and should do more.

Five Palestinian groups, including Hamas and Islamic Jihad and Yasser Arafat's mainstream Fatah movement, declared a three-month suspension on attacks against Israeli targets at the end of last month.