Firing into the air, Palestinian gunmen blocked access to Gaza's Rafah border crossing to Egypt and stormed government offices on Wednesday in growing unrest ahead of a Palestinian election later this month. The gunmen, from al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades went on the rampage after a local leader was arrested by police 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 facility after taking over several government offices in the border town and kicking out the workers, according to a report of Reuters. The gunmen 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.
