Israeli tanks and helicopters fired shells on the Arab village of Beit Jala in the West Bank near Jerusalem on Monday after shots were fired on the nearby Jewish settlement of Gilo, witnesses said, according to AFP.
The CNN featured crossfire between the Palestinians and the Israeli forces on Monday evening.
Al Jazira satellite channel said Palestinian fire damaged a house in the settlement, causing no injuries.
It was the second night in a row that a firefight erupted between Palestinians and Israeli troops in the area that lies between Jerusalem and Bethlehem to the south.
The Israeli tanks also rattled heavy machine-gun fire into Beit Jala, the witnesses told AFP. It was not immediately known if there were any injuries.
Sunday’s shelling caused damage to the houses of the town.
The army decided Monday to encircle Beit Jala following the overnight shooting on Gilo.
The Jewish settlement of Gilo, set on the rolling hillsides of occupied east Jerusalem, has recently become a target of gunfire coming from Palestinian areas. Established in 1972, it has a population of 35,000, according to the agency.
According to the Palestinians, the settlement was built on confiscated Arab lands.
"We have the green light to react with all the means at our disposal to these attacks against Gilo," the commander of Israeli forces in the sector, General Marcel Aviv, told army radio earlier Monday, according to AFP - (Several Sources)
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