BETHLEHEM, Oct 19: Israeli tanks rumbled into Palestinian-ruled Bethlehem on Friday and killed six Palestinians in the West Bank, stoking fears the year-old conflict is spinning out of control.

Israel sent the tanks into Bethlehem and nearby Beit Jala to try to halt shooting which broke out amid an upsurge of violence following the assassination of an Israeli minister on Wednesday.

The fighting defied U.S. calls for calm and threatened peace efforts which Washington considers vital to its efforts to maintain Arab support for its “anti-terror” offensive.

Israeli forces shot dead a 19-year-old man in Beit Jala, a 23-year-old man in Bethlehem and a 36-year-old in a nearby village as they traded fire with Palestinian fighters.

Troops also killed a Palestinian security officer in the West Bank city of Ramallah and a stone-throwing protester in the Gaza Strip. Elsewhere in Gaza, a teenager died when a shell lying nearby exploded.

The deaths took the toll to 12 Palestinians and one Israeli killed since Wednesday’s assassination, ending a brief lull in violence.—Reuters