A Jordanian-Palestinian judge who was shot dead by Israeli troops at the Jordan border tried to snatch a weapon and strangle a soldier, the Israeli army said on Tuesday. The incident occurred on Monday, when troops opened fire at the Allenby Bridge border crossing between the West Bank and Jordan, killing 38-year-old Raed Zeiter – a Palestinian with Jordanian citizenship. Israeli military police said he tried to snatch a weapon from a soldier.

But Palestinian witnesses said the man was shot following an argument over a cigarette in an incident that prompted a furious response from the Palestinian Authority and Amman.

In a statement, the Israeli military said it had conducted a comprehensive investigation that included extensive questioning of witnesses by security personnel.

They said Zeiter had first charged at the soldiers with a metal pole, prompting them to fire at his legs. When he began strangling a soldier they shot him dead.

"The preliminary conclusion of the investigation indicates that the terrorist attacked the soldier. He charged at the soldiers shouting, 'Allahu Akbar' (God is greatest), with a metal pole, and then attempted to seize the soldier's weapon prompting the soldiers to respond by firing towards his lower extremities," it said.

"The suspect then began to strangle a soldier and the force resorted to using live fire once again."

It said the investigation, which is being handled by the military police, was ongoing.

Later, the office of the Israeli prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, issued a more conciliatory statement saying that Israel was committed to its peace treaty with Jordan and would establish an Israeli-Jordanian team to look into what had happened.

"Israel regrets the death of Judge Raed Zeiter yesterday at the King Hussein (Allenby) bridge and expresses its sympathies to the people and government of Jordan," the statement said.

A Jordanian security official confirmed to AFP that Zeiter worked as a judge in Amman. Jordan's justice ministry said he worked at a magistrates court in the capital.

Zeiter, 38, was of Palestinian origins and was buried in the West Bank city of Nablus on Tuesday.

Several hours after Zeiter's death, troops shot dead a 20-year-old Palestinian near the West Bank city of Ramallah. The army said he had been throwing stones at soldiers.