GAZA Ñ Palestinian attacks against Israel turned deadly over the weekend in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

On late Saturday, Palestinian gunmen fired toward an Israeli car on a West Bank highway near Jerusalem. An Israeli couple were killed and three others were injured. One of those injured was said to be in critical condition.

Earlier, a Palestinian squad stormed an Israeli military post and launched a firefight in which three soldiers were killed. Two members of Palestinan Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat's Fatah movement entered a military post in the Gush Katif bloc of settlements and hurled grenades at sleeping soldiers at about 3 a.m. on Saturday.

The soldiers awoke and some of them returned fire. Three soldiers were killed and seven were wounded. One of those killed was the deputy commander of the elite Shaked unit.

In the Israeli counterattack, both Fatah attackers were killed. One of them was identified as a PA police officer.

Israeli military sources said they had not expected a Palestinian attack that would involve face-to-face combat. They said some of the Israelis wounded were struck by friendly fire.

"This operation shows daring that hasn't been seen before," Maj. Gen. Doron Almog, head of Israel's southern command, said.

Overnight Sunday, Israeli air force F-15 and F-16 warplanes and helicopters struck Palestinian targets near the West Bank city of Nablus and the Gaza Strip cities of Dir Al Balah and Rafah. Among the targets destroyed were two PA police arsenals and a building.

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