Security forces braced on Friday for more violence after Israeli hardliners went on the rampage against Palestinians in retaliation for the eviction of settlers from a disputed Hebron house.

The entire southern West Bank was declared a closed military zone to prevent Israelis from converging again on the flashpoint city where a mob of Jewish extremists on Thursday shot and wounded three Palestinians, hurled rocks at others and torched homes, fields and cars.

Dozens of young Palestinians burned tyres and hurled rocks at an Israeli military position in Hebron on Friday and soldiers responded by firing teargas while in Gaza City, about 2,000 Palestinians took part in a Hamas-led protest against the settler violence.

Right-wing Israelis have vowed to exact revenge for Thursday's forceful eviction of some 250 settlers from the house that had come to symbolise hardliners' determination to fight for what they consider their God-given right to all the biblical land of Israel -- including the Palestinian territories.

"I remain concerned about the potential for a further escalation of a tense situation," UN envoy Robert Serry said in a statement.

Israeli authorities were also worried about a Palestinian backlash amid simmering anger over the perceived failure of security forces to confront the rampaging mob in Hebron.

Security was beefed up around Jerusalem's mosque compound for Friday prayers and access was restricted to Muslims holding Israeli identity cards and aged over 45 in the case of men, with no age restrictions for women.

Most Israeli media hailed the security forces, who used tear gas to finally drag the settlers from the house following an Israeli high court order on November 16.

But authorities also came under harsh criticism for failing to protect Palestinians who live around what has been dubbed "the House of Contention".

"As the occupying power, the government of Israel is under obligation to protect Palestinian civilians, property and holy sites," Serry said, adding that "actions of extremists continue to pose a threat to the peace process".

Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas has asked for an urgent UN Security Council session to discuss the settler violence.

A videotape distributed by Israel's B'Tselem human rights group shows a settler shooting two Palestinians, and a guard from the nearby Kiryat Arba settlement firing into the air as relatives of the victims overpowered the gunman.

B'Tselem said it delivered the video to Hebron police, demanding that the assailant be immediately brought to justice and that the involvement of the security guard be investigated.

"Additionally, the security forces must investigate the failures that allowed settlers to riot throughout the afternoon and evening in Hebron's Palestinian neighbourhoods," the group said.

The conservative English-language Jerusalem Post printed a picture of soldiers aiming their guns at Palestinians trying to reach their homes near the disputed building, and another showing relaxed-looking soldiers chatting with masked youths, apparently settlers, some of whom are holding rocks.

The presence of a few hundred Jewish settlers in Hebron's centre, and a further 6,500 in nearby Kiryat Arba, has been a source of tension in the Palestinian city of 170,000 long before 100 or so Israelis moved into the disputed house in March last year.

In 1994, a Jewish extremist massacred 29 Palestinian worshippers at the Tomb of the Patriarchs, a site holy to Jews and Muslims alike.

The international community considers Jewish settlements in the West Bank to be illegal, and the Palestinians say they are the biggest obstacle to Middle East peace talks.