An Israeli policeman today shot himself in the head at a farewell ceremony for the French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, sparking brief panic at Tel Aviv's Ben-Gurion airport.

A police spokesman, Shlomi Sagi, said the officer, part of a contingent detailed to guard the airport, had apparently fired his weapon just as Sarkozy was about to board his plane home.

Another police spokesman stressed there was no evidence of an assassination attempt.

"We are currently investigating the circumstances to see whether it was suicide or if he accidentally discharged his weapon," Micky Rosenfeld said.

"His mission was to secure an area to prevent people from reaching the ceremony."

Television pictures showed seeming confusion as the French president's wife, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, rushed up the aircraft steps ahead of her husband, with security guards lagging behind the couple.

At the same time the Israeli prime minister, Ehud Olmert, and the president, Shimon Peres, who were seeing Sarkozy off following his three-day trip to Israel and the West Bank, were surrounded by armed security guards and ushered into cars.

The gunshot happened when a military band was playing and it appeared none of the leaders heard anything at the time.

Once the situation became clearer, Olmert boarded the plane to tell Sarkozy what had happened.

During his visit the French president held talks with Olmert and the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas.

In an address to Israel's parliament, the knesset, yesterday Sarkozy told Israel "there cannot be peace" without the country sharing sovereignty over Jerusalem with the Palestinians and stopping building settlements in the occupied territories.

Sarkozy pledged full support for Israel but urged it to ease travel restrictions to the West Bank, saying: "I told our Israeli friends the injustice done to the Jewish people can't be resolved by creating conditions of injustice for the Palestinian people."