One dead after blast at Fatah offices

An explosion has destroyed the one-story Hebron office of Fatah, the party of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.

At least one person has died in what Palestinian security officials say was an Israeli assassination attempt with a helicopter firing two missiles.

Israeli military official sources denied army involvement and have described it as a "work accident" - a term used when bombs in preparation explode prematurely.

People in the area did not speak of seeing any helicopters over the building, though several said they heard one in the area at the time.

"I was walking and I heard a big explosion and everyone heard it," said Mohammed Jabai, 34,

"There was helicopter in the area, but I didn't see it shoot any missiles."

Jibril Rajoub, the chief of West Bank security for the Palestinians, refused to comment on the cause of the explosion.

Palestinians in the area - the centre of the Palestinian-controlled part of Hebron - were digging through debris, searching for anyone beneath.

Palestinian security sources identified the dead man as Rajai Abu Rajab, an activist in the Tanzime, the military wing of the Fatah party.

Soon after the explosion, heavy gunfire broke out at a valley between the Palestinian village of Beit Jalla and the Israeli neighbourhood of Gilo, which is on the outskirts of Jerusalem.