ISRAELI troops yesterday opened fire on Palestinian protesters demanding freedom for jailed activists as tension rose, with both sides accusing each other of violating the Wye River summit accord, AP reported. Israeli police stationed at a joint position with Palestinian counterparts fired pistols into the crowd near the Jewish settlement of Beit El, located north of Ramallah, while nearby Israeli soldiers opened fire with live rounds and rubber-coated ammunition, to revenge a Palestinian attack on an Israeli soldier driving near the settlement. The clash followed the stabbing to death of a Palestinian by an Israeli extremist in Jerusalem.

Concerns about escalating violence that may disrupt the implementation of the Wye River Accord, in advance of US President Clinton's visit to Israel and Palestinian territories later this month, were accompanied by complaints by both sides regarding violations. Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu objected, in a letter to Clinton, to recent statements by Palestinian President Yasser Arafat concerning the declaration of a Palestinian state next year. Meanwhile, Arafat's deputy, Mahmoud Abbas, said that confiscation of Palestinian land to build roads for Jewish settlements was not approved in the accords.