PA turmoil
צילום: רויטרס
Gaza: Gunmen burst into government office, again
Gunmen from the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades burst into Rafah government office, demand release of group member
The PA's failure to keep the peace on the streets continues: Gunmen from the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades burst into a number of PA institutions in Rafah, including border control and offices belonging to the Palestinian Authority, demanding that a group member be released.
The action was to demand the release of a local al-Aqsa Brigades leader arrested by Palestinian police on suspicion of being behind last week's kidnapping of British aid worker Kate Burton and her parents during a visit to Rafah. The gunmen threatened to take more drastic steps if their demands were not met.
After the show of force at the frontier crossing, the gunmen moved their protest to government offices in Rafah where they shut down one office after the other, including an elections bureau.
"It will remain closed and we will not allow holding parliament elections in Rafah if Ala (the kidnapping suspect) is not released," said one of the gunmen who called himself Abu Yazam.
After the PA police did not respond to the demands, al-Aqsa Brigades members placed an explosives device near one of the watchtowers on the Gaza – Egypt border before fleeing the area.
They returned to the crossing on Wednesday morning, where they confronted PA security forces and blocked access to the Rafah crossing.
The Palestinian Interior Ministry vowed to combat the kidnapping of foreign citizens with all needed force. Staff from the ministry said they would take all necessary steps to put an end to the kidnappings, which they said damaged the Palestinian image in the world.
Hamas blamed Fatah for the anarchy in the streets, and said the attacks were designed to create chaos, in order to appease Fatah opponents to the elections, who claim that a proper vote under the current circumstances would be impossible.
Reuters contributed to this report
