A gun attack on Israeli soldiers last Sunday by a member of the Palestinian Authority's security forces has led to the first closure of Ramallah in more than a decade and renewed concerns over a breakdown in Israeli-Palestinian security co-ordination.

Three soldiers were wounded when Amjad Suchri, a policeman who worked as a driver and bodyguard to the Palestinian attorney-general, opened fire on a checkpoint at one of the exits from Ramallah, near Bet El, a settlement north of Jerusalem. Suchri was shot and killed.

While the overwhelming majority of attackers in the past four months have been individuals acting on their own accord, this was the third known case in which a Palestinian security officer has opened fire on Israelis.

Israeli security experts still believe that the PA is interested in maintaining a relative level of calm and continuing the security co-ordination with Israel, largely out of concern that losing control would allow their rivals from Hamas to re-establish a foothold in the West Bank. But the involvement of PA employees in attacks is a sign that President Mahmoud Abbas does not have a firm grip on his security personnel.

On Monday, Israel imposed a rare closure on Ramallah, the main centre of Palestinian government and commerce. Israeli officials denied it was a punitive measure, saying that they had received tip-offs about further attacks coming from the city.

● On Wednesday, border police officer Hadar Cohen, 19, was killed by terrorists at Jerusalem's Damascus Gate. Two others were wounded. The three attackers were shot dead at the scene.