A Palestinian has been killed by Israeli soldiers who were staging an incursion into the Balata refugee camp in the West Bank.

Hussamah Saleh, 23, was a member of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, which is affiliated to Mahmud Abbas's, the   Palestinian president, Fatah movement.

Three other Palestinians were wounded in the exchange of gunfire with Israeli troops.

The latest death brings to 5,408 the number of fatalities since the 2000 outbreak of the second Palestinian uprising.

PHOTO CAPTION

Palestinians carry the body of Hamas leader Mohammed Odeh during his funeral in the West Bank village of Hableh, near Qalqilya October 4, 2006. (Reuters)