Palestinian gunmen opened fire on Thursday on a group of Israelis near the West Bank city of Jenin, killing one, Israeli security sources said.

The incident, the latest in a surge of violence in the nearly three-year Palestinian uprising for independence, came hours before Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas was to demand new powers to advance peace talks with Israel.

No other details were immediately available.

The U.S.-backed road map to end violence and pave the way to a Palestinian state by 2005 has come close to collapse after a suicide bombing in Jerusalem followed by Israel's killing of Palestinian militants, who ended a cease-fire last month.

Rising conflict between Abbas and Palestinian President Yasser Arafat has also stymied progress toward peace. Abbas has said his request that parliament extend his powers is crucial to the future of the road map.

The prime minister, appointed by Arafat on April 30 under U.S. pressure, on Thursday will address the 85-member parliament in the West Bank city of Ramallah, where Arafat is confined by an Israeli siege to his headquarters.

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