Bethlehem, Oct 18: Palestinians fired on the Jewish settlement of Gilo on the outskirts of Jerusalem from a town on the edge of Bethlehem, following the assassination of three Palestinian militants Thursday in the West Bank town, witnesses said.

Bullets damaged several houses and an army outpost facing the Bethlehem suburb of Beit Jala, an army spokeswoman said. No injuries were reported.

The last time Gilo came under fire, in late August, Israel’s right-wing Prime Minister Ariel Sharon sent tanks into Beit Jala, sparking days of fierce gunbattles with Palestinians.

The shooting came immediately after Israeli helicopter gunships killed a leader of Yasser Arafat’s Fatah movement wanted by Israel for the death of a Jewish settler woman, as well as two other Fatah activists in Bethlehem.

The rocket strike killed Ataf Abayat, wanted for the September 20 ambush near Bethlehem. Two other Fatah members, Jamal Abed Ala and Salah Artekh, were also killed when the missile slammed into the jeep they were driving in east Bethlehem.—AFP