Israeli soldiers shot and killed 20-year-old Palestinian Mahmoud Abdalla during a botched arrest operation in the West Bank yesterday.

The Israeli military claimed that Palestinian inhabitants of the Qalandiya refugee camp north of Jerusalem had thrown explosive charges and shot at their soldiers, who opened fire in retaliation, killing Mr Abdalla and wounding another man.

In another development yesterday, Israeli police arrested 10 members of the Jewish extremist Lehava group following an extensive undercover operation.

Police spokeswoman Luba Samri said that the Lehava activists were being held on suspicion of incitement to violent acts with a racist background.

Israeli media said that one of those arrested was Lehava leader Benzi Gopstein.

Lehava opposes Jewish assimilation and Arab-Israeli coexistence.

Police had arrested three of its members on Monday on suspicion of setting fire to a bilingual school in Jerusalem last month where both Jews and Arabs studied.