Dozens of Palestinian gunmen took over an office of the Palestinian elections commission near Jerusalem Tuesday, to press for changes in a slate of ruling party candidates for parliament.
The gunmen, from the militant al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, were demanding that the ruling Fatah party slate for January 25 elections include more representatives from neighboring East Jerusalem. Police were reported negotiating with the gunmen Tuesday afternoon.
In another sign of growing lawlessness in the Palestinian territories, al-Aqsa gunmen Tuesday briefly seized three government buildings in the northern Gaza Strip, to demand jobs with the Palestinian Authority.
Internal unrest has been growing in Gaza since Israel ended its 38-year occupation of the territory earlier this year.
Some information for this report provided by Reuters and AP.