Palestinians pull out of peace talks after Israeli raid

Palestinian negotiators have cancelled a planned round of peace talks with Israel in protest against a raid on a refugee camp in the occupied West Bank in which Israeli soldiers killed three Palestinians, including a UN worker.

At least 15 others were wounded, six of them seriously, during clashes between Israeli forces and Palestinians that erupted after the raid on the Qalandiya camp on Monday.

Rami Hamdallah, the Palestinian prime minister, said in a statement: "Such a crime proves the need for an urgent and effective international protection for our people."

Israeli forces often enter Palestinian-administered territories to arrest people.

Israel and the Palestinian Authority recently resumed US-brokered peace talks after a long halt last month. Neither side, however, has expressed much optimism about a major breakthrough.

Violence in the West Bank has escalated since the beginning of 2013. Israeli forces have killed 14 Palestinians in the occupied territory this year, most of them in clashes, compared with three killed in the same period in 2012.

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency said one of those killed on Monday, a 34-year-old father of four, worked for them and was walking to work when he was shot in the chest. The agency condemned the killing.

An Israeli police spokeswoman told the AFP news agency that the officers were on a raid to catch a "terror suspect" when more than 1,500 Palestinians took to the streets and attacked them with firebombs and rocks.

She said Israeli forces used "riot-control munitions" - a term that usually refers to rubber-coated steel bullets and tear gas.

It was not clear if the Israelis made any arrests.