Violence flared today in the West Bank city of Nablus when Israeli troops shot and seriously wounded a 21-year-old Palestinian man.
Palestinian witnesses said the man was in a group of Palestinians throwing stones at troops. The army said soldiers shot at Palestinian gunmen firing at them.
In a separate incident, an explosive device blew up next to Israeli soldiers in an armoured vehicle patrolling Nablus. There were no injuries or damage
The violence came after Israel decided to lift its blockade of the city of Jenin, also in the West Bank. The Israeli army said removal of the "closure" it imposed on Jenin in August after a truce declared by Palestinian factions collapsed amid violence was "in keeping with assessments of the security situation".
Jenin, the scene of heavy fighting in April 2002, has been surrounded by Israeli forces for the better part of three years of Israeli-Palestinian violence.
Residents said routes were opened between the city's eight entrances and surrounding villages after Israeli troops dismantled roadblocks and tanks pulled back.
"Jenin has served as a nest of terror in the past, and has been a springboard for many attacks against Israel," an official in the Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's office said. But in line with our policy, we are willing to make adjustments... without harming Israel's security interest. Israel has no intention to impede on the lives of Palestinians."
The West Bank barrier, which Israel says stops suicide bombers from reaching its cities, looms several kilometres (miles) to the north and northwest.
Palestinians call the project, which has drawn international condemnation, a land grab aimed at denying them the contiguous state they hope to establish in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has told Palestinians that if they do not stop attacks and enter road map talks within a few months, Israel will unilaterally draw security boundaries stripping them of some of the land they seek for a viable state.