HEBRON, West Bank, Nov 28 (Reuters) - A Palestinian was seriously wounded in the West Bank on Wednesday when President Mahmoud Abbas's security forces opened fire at a funeral for a man killed in a protest against Palestinian-Israeli peace talks, medics said.

Witnesses said that Abbas's forces fired into the air to disperse the crowd of thousands after mourners began throwing stones at the security officers.

Medical workers said the man was shot in the neck and several others were wounded. Dozens were arrested and security officers confiscated the flags of Islamist groups including Hamas, witnesses said.

The crowd gathered for the funeral of a demonstrator killed on Tuesday at a rally held by a small Islamist group against the U.S.-sponsored Annapolis peace conference. Witnesses at Tuesday's rally said the man was shot by security forces but police denied responsibility.

Abbas agreed with U.S. President George W. Bush and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert at Annapolis to launch immediate talks on creating a Palestinian state alongside Israel with a goal of sealing an accord by the end of next year.

Abbas, who lost control of the Gaza Strip to Hamas Islamists in June, holds sway in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and has promised to crack down on militants as part of a 2003 U.S. "road map" peace plan. (Reporting by Haitham Tamimi, Writing by Ari Rabinovitch; Editing by Dominic Evans)

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