Firing into the air, Palestinian gunmen briefly blocked access to Gaza's Rafah border crossing to Egypt and stormed government offices today in growing unrest ahead of a Palestinian election later this month.
The gunmen, from al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, a renegade militant group in the ruling Fatah faction, went on the rampage after police arrested a local leader on suspicion of involvement in the kidnapping of three Britons last week.
Masked gunmen ordered passengers to leave the European Union-monitored Rafah terminal and blocked access to the facility for more than an hour after taking over several government offices in the border town and kicking out workers.
They said they allowed the terminal to reopen after security forces told them where their leader was being detained.
Chaos has deepened in Gaza, territory seen as a testing ground for Palestinian statehood, since Israeli troops withdrew in September. The end of 38 years of occupation has intensified a power struggle between militants and security forces.
The gunmen, who earlier planted bombs at the border terminal, said they would prevent voting in Rafah in a Jan. 25 parliamentary election unless Palestinian security forces freed their leader.
"We have not yet received answers on our demands to immediately release Ala al-Hams (the kidnapping suspect)," said a spokesman for the gunmen who called himself Abu Yazan.
"(The elections office) will remain closed and we will not allow parliamentary elections to be held in Rafah unless Ala (al-Hams) is released," Abu Yazan said.