TEHRAN Palestinians clashed with Israeli troops in Al-Khalil following the funeral Tuesday of a young Palestinian woman who was murdered by Jewish settlers. A dozen Palestinian youths threw stones at Israeli troops and the soldiers responded by firing into the air, witnesses said. No injuries or arrests were reported. The disturbance erupted following the funeral of Sabah Abu Sneyneh, 22, who was found beaten to death late Sunday near Elazar, a Jewish settlement south of Al-Khalil. Abu Sneyneh, a student at Al-Khalil's Islamic College, had been missing since November 15. Fatah issued a leaflet Monday accusing settlers of killing Abu Sneyneh. But Israeli police said that there was no evidence pointing to any Israeli involvement and that the case had been turned over to the Palestinian police.

Al-Khalil is a flashpoint for violence as Jewish settlers, guarded by Zionist troops, continue to live in the heart of the city after most of the area was handed over to Palestinian rule in January 1997. Some 400 Jewish zealots live among 140,000 Palestinians in Al-Khalil. Meanwhile, a Zionist accused of murdering a Palestinian farmer in the West Bank last month has gone on trial in a Tel Aviv court.

Gur Hamel, 28, is charged with beating to death Ahmed Hatatba, 68, smashing his skull with a rock near the Jewish settlement of Itamar, southeast of Nablus in the northern West Bank. His trial opened Monday. Joyous Palestinians inaugurated Gaza International Airport on Tuesday, celebrating the creation of a badly needed economic lifeline and a new symbol of their hoped-for sovereignty.

Palestinian President Yasser Arafat and thousands of cheering and dancing dignitaries were on hand to welcome seven inaugural flights which arrived in quick succession from Arab and European capitals, and even Israel's Ben Gurion Airport. Large crowds from the neighboring town of Rafah also converged on the airport, violating elementary rules of security by pouring onto the tarmac to join in the celebrations.

Under a bright winter sun, an Egypt Air Airbus carrying a mix of celebrities, businessmen and government ministers from Cairo was the first to land, quickly followed by flights from Morocco, Jordan, Austria and three planes from Spain, two carrying 10 tons of medicine and other aid. Israelis and Palestinians have postponed the formal opening of negotiations on a permanent peace accord from this week until early December, Palestinian officials said Tuesday. Nabil Shaath, the Palestinian Authority minister for international cooperation, said the so-called final status talks could not begin this week as scheduled because the chief Israeli and Palestinian negotiators are both travelling to Washington.