AL-KHALIL -- Israeli policemen on Tuesday fired indiscriminately on Palestinian bystanders in Al-Qods, killing a 70-year-old elderly man and injuring a number of other people.

Eyewitnesses said the policemen armed with pistols and semiautomatic rifles opened fire on people in the streets, killing the elderly Palestinians. His identity was not disclosed, IRNA reported.

The Israeli occupation authorities claimed the policemen were coming under fire from a Palestinian young man who they said escaped.

The apartheid police claimed initially they didn't kill the elderly Palestinians, but admitted later that he was killed by Israeli bullets.

The Zionists claimed that one of their policemen was injured.

Elsewhere, five Israeli occupation soldiers were injured Tuesday, one seriously during an armed clash with Palestinian resistance fighters.

Meanwhile, the Israeli army and police were placed on high alert to forestall possible Palestinian guerrilla attacks.

The Israeli occupation army reoccupied virtually all Palestinian towns and has confined hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to their homes.