A brief gunbattle between rival Fatah factions erupted outside the Gaza headquarters of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas Wednesday, as the ruling party prepared to register its list of candidates for January's parlimentary elections.

Witnesses say at least three people were wounded.

The clash occurred after Fatah gunmen stormed the building demanding that the party respect the results of recent  primary elections.

Mr. Abbas has decided to appoint candidates after canceling the results of the primaries in Gaza and some other areas where balloting was marred by violence and fraud.

Some hard-liners fear they will not be properly represented in the Fatah list.

On Tuesday, a flare-up of election-related violence in Gaza forced Palestinian election officials to close their offices in the there and in the West Bank.  The offices are to open later today.

Mr. Abbas has been struggling to contain internal unrest since Israel pulled out of Gaza in September.
 
Some information for this report provided by Reuters, AP.