Al-Bardamil was killed by Israeli soldiers who said he was planting a bomb

JERUSALEM (CNN) -- The tumult over construction of Jewish settlements in mostly Arab areas of Jerusalem rose anew Wednesday, with clashes between police and anti-settlement protesters from the United States and Canada.

Tempers flare over Jewish settlements in Jerusalem
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Also, a top Palestinian leader urged his people to "mobilize to defend Jerusalem" after the Israeli government approved construction of new housing for a Jewish religious seminary on land originally designated for an Arab girls' school.

"This decision by the Israeli government is a continuation of the Israeli aggression toward the city of Jerusalem in order to make it a Jewish city and deport all the Arab citizens from Jerusalem," Palestinian Cabinet Secretary Ahmed Abdel Rahman said.

Also, an Israeli army spokesman said a Palestinian man was fatally shot by soldiers Tuesday night while planting two explosive devices outside Morag, a Jewish settlement inside Palestinian-controlled Gaza. Another suspect escaped.

"He was apparently waiting for an Israeli patrol to pass before detonating them," the army spokesman said.

Palestinian police chief Ghazi Jabali said the 27-year-old man, Rafat al-Bardamil, a known supporter of the militant Islamic Jihad movement, was discovered while planting a roadside bomb connected to a tripwire. Jabali said Palestinian police were searching for two accomplices.

Police seize a man protesting Israeli settlements in mostly Arab neighborhoods in Jerusalem

Hundreds of mourners turned out for al-Bardamil's burial in Gaza on Wednesday.

Non-Israeli Palestinian sympathizers demonstrate

Meanwhile, in the Palestinian neighborhood of Silwan just outside the Old City of Jerusalem, club-wielding Israeli police clashed with about 50 protesters, mostly members of Christian human rights groups from the United States and Canada.

The demonstrators were objecting to the purchase of five houses in predominantly Arab Silwan by Jewish settlers, who moved into them Monday.

A campaign to use property purchases to increase the Jewish presence in traditionally Arab east Jerusalem is backed by funding from international supporters, including U.S. multimillionaire Irving Moskowitz. Palestinians want east Jerusalem to be the capital of a future Palestinian state.

A Palestinian homeowner watches clashes between demonstrators and police

"Why should these Palestinians, who have lived in Jerusalem for hundreds of years, be evicted from their homes so that Jews from Brooklyn can live in them?" asked Norman Finkelstein, a protester from New York.

"We just wanted to show solidarity with the Palestinians who had their homes taken away by the settlers," said demonstrator Lucy Mayer, also from New York.

Police say group lacked permit to protest

The group was holding a sit-in in the yard of one of the houses when police arrived. Witnesses said that when demonstrators refused to leave, police used clubs to force them out.

But police said the protesters did not have a permit for their demonstration.

"Police asked the crowd to disperse, but once they did not comply, the police used reasonable force," a police spokeswoman said. No injuries were reported, but several demonstrators were arrested.

Reuters contributed to this report.

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