An Israeli military sniper shot a Palestinian farmer in the back yesterday near the border in northern Gaza.

Emergency services spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra identified the dead man as Fadel Mohammed Halawa.

Mr Halawa was catching songbirds to sell in the local market at the time.

Mr Qudra said the bullet appeared to have been fired from a nearby army watchtower near the Jabalia refugee camp.

It was the first time a Palestinian from Gaza had been killed by Israeli fire since its seven-week bloodbath in Gaza ended on August 26.

Jewish extremists also firebombed a house in a Palestinian village in the West Bank early yesterday.

Settlers believed to be from the Shilo settlement came and threw petrol bombs at a house which partly burned down, said Mayor Masud Abu Mura of Khirbet Abu Falah, north-east of Ramallah.

Four women were inside the house at the time but they escaped unharmed.

Near the house, the assailants scrawled in Hebrew: “Death to Arabs.”

Meanwhile, Israel called for a series of hard-line measures to strip Palestinian attackers of residency rights.

At the start of his weekly cabinet meeting, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called for a Bill that would revoke residency rights for Palestinians involved in attacks against Israelis.

Mr Netanyahu added that the measure would “complement” house demolitions and serve as a deterrent.

The cabinet also discussed a Bill to recognise Israel’s Jewish character, institutionalise Jewish law and delist Arabic as one of Israel’s official languages.