An Israeli motorist was shot in the head in the West Bank today while Palestinian leader Mr Yasser Arafat was meeting US Secretary of State Colin Powell in nearby Ramallah.
Military sources said the man, described by Israel Radio and medical sources as a West Bank Jewish settler, was in serious condition.
Palestinian militants have carried out similar attacks during the past five months of an uprising for independence.
A spokesman for the settlers said the man had been shot in the head and hand while driving near the Jewish settlment of Ateret.
Earlier, the army reported at least 12 shooting incidents involving Israeli targets in the West Bank and Gaza Strip overnight, but it said no one had been injured.
At a joint news conference with Mr Arafat, Mr Powell had just called for an end to violence in which more than 400 people have been killed, 331 of them Palestinians, 61 Israelis and 13 Israeli Arabs.
Mr Powell urged Israel to lift its siege of the West Bank and Gaza Strip as soon as possible to enable the resumption of Palestinian economic activity.
"We discussed how it is necessary for all sides to move away from violence and incitement and how it is necessary to lift the siege as soon as possible so that economic activity can begin again in the region...The challenge is how to get the process started", he told the joint news conference
Mr Arafat called for negotiations with Israel to resume wherethey left off, voicing his commitment to the peace process as a"strategic choice."
Israel has sealed off the two territories, home to three million Palestinians, because of what it says are security concerns. Palestinians say the measures are choking off their economy, and brand them as collective punishment.
Earlier the Israeli Prime Minister-elect Mr Ariel Sharon set an end to violence as a condition for peace talks with the Palestinians and said Mr Arafat had to take steps before Israel would ease economic sanctions.