JEFFREY HELLER and NIDAL al-MUGHRABI PALESTINIAN militants in the Gaza Strip fired rockets toward the Jerusalem area and southern Israel yesterday, carrying out a threat to punish Israel for violent confrontations with Palestinians in Jerusalem. The Gaza health ministry said nine Palestinians were killed in Israeli air strikes in the Palestinian territory after the barrages against Israel. The Israeli military issued no immediate comment on any action it had taken in the enclave. Rocket sirens sounded in Jerusalem, in nearby towns and in communities near the Gaza minutes after an ultimatum from the enclave's ruling Islamist Hamas group demanding Israel…