Palestinian militants set fire to a government building in the West Bank town of Jenin early on Saturday in anger at the mayor's refusal to meet their demands, militant sources said.
A leader of Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, an armed group in President Yasser Arafat's Fatah movement, said its members had torched the building. It was the latest sign of growing unrest in Palestinian areas that has posed a serious challenge to Arafat's rule.
Mayor Qadorrah Moussa, appointed by Arafat earlier this week, had refused to pay salaries to Al Aqsa gunmen or cooperate with the group, the Al Aqsa leader told reporters.
Jenin, a stronghold of militancy, has been plagued by growing lawlessness by armed gangs after nearly four years of Israeli-Palestinian conflict.