Israeli tanks with helicopter support have thrust into the centre of the Palestinian-ruled town of Ramallah in the West Bank, killing a member of the Palestinian security forces and wounding 15 others in several hours of fighting.

Ali Khader Jaber, 26, was shot in the stomach when he went out on to the roof of his house after hearing shooting, Palestinian hospital sources said.

Another Palestinian man - an ambulance driver - was killed by shrapnel earlier in the night as he tried to transport people away from clashes in the town of Bethlehem.

Some tanks stopped only a few metres from the Palestinian Legislative Council building, witnesses said.

Helicopters continued to swoop overhead as the tanks rolled back to their positions outside Ramallah, spraying bullets from the air, the witnesses said.

The Israelis are using events in the US as an excuse to impose a military solution on their intifada, or uprising, against Israel's occupation in Gaza and the West Bank.