Thousands of Palestinians gathered Thursday to mourn a senior official who was killed a day earlier by Israeli occupation forces in the West Bank.

Thousands of Palestinians gathered Thursday to mourn a senior official who was killed a day earlier by Israeli occupation forces in the West Bank.

Officials and onlookers streamed into the Ramallah headquarters of Palestinian Authority Chief Mahmoud Abbas in the late morning, ahead of a planned funeral procession to a nearby cemetery, an AFP correspondent said.

Uniformed Palestinians carried Abu Ein's coffin, draped in a Palestinian flag, into the courtyard, as nationalist songs blared and mourners chanted "Revenge!" and "Your blood will not be spilled in vain!"

Schools were closed in a day of mourning and posters of Abu Ein were plastered on walls throughout the West Bank city.

A short distance away, additional occupation troops and border guards were being deployed in anticipation of clashes with mourners and protesters, an army spokeswoman said, especially given the cemetery's proximity to the Zionist settlement of Psagot.

Israeli soldiers killed Abu Ein on Wednesday during a protest march against settlements by some 300 Palestinians who intended to plant olive trees as a symbolic act.

Troops fired tear gas, three soldiers grabbed Abu Ein and struck him in the chest. Videos circulating online showed the soldiers pushing Abu Ein firmly in the chest and neck.