Disgruntled Policemen Block Roads in Gaza

Published: 1/14/06, 7:06 PM EDT




JERUSALEM (AP) - Dozens of Palestinian gunmen, including off-duty policemen,
blocked two major roads in the Gaza Strip for more than an hour Saturday in
the latest sign of chaos gripping the area ahead of Jan. 25 elections.

With the violence bolstering Hamas' prospects in the legislative election,
U.S. officials warned Saturday that millions of dollars of aid could be in
jeopardy if the militant Islamic group joins the Palestinian government.
Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas said Hamas' participation in the government
was "not an American issue."

The gunmen were demanding a government response to the killing of a
policeman in a drug bust a week ago.

The protesters urged Abbas to impose order in Gaza. They also called for the
resignation of Interior Minister Nasser Yousef, who oversees Palestinian
security.

The plainclothes officers said they are members of the Al Aqsa Martyrs'
Brigades, a militant group linked to Fatah.

Opinion polls show Hamas in a close race with Fatah. Hamas is committed to
Israel's destruction and has been labeled a terrorist group by the United
States and European Union.

A U.S. official said Saturday that Washington would have to review its aid
to the Palestinians if Hamas joins their government.

Abbas, marking one anniversary in power on Saturday, told the Al-Jazeera
network that Hamas' possible participation in the Palestinian government "is
not an American issue."

"If Hamas wants to participate in the Palestinian Authority, we have no
objection to that," Abbas said.

Under the interim peace accords that the Palestinians and Israel signed in
Oslo, Norway, in the early 1990s, groups that participate in the Palestinian
government must renounce violence.

Ismail Haniye, who tops Hamas' parliamentary list, said in a statement that
he "does not rule out Hamas' participating in the government or forming a
government itself if it gets a majority in parliament."

Hamas' election platform has focused primarily on internal Palestinian
issues, like cleaning up government corruption and restoring law and order,
though it also refers to the right to "resistance" against Israel.

In the West Bank city of Hebron, crowds of Jewish settlers threw stones at
Palestinian homes and tried to force their way into a market there before
Israeli security forces restrained them, security forces said.

Tensions have been high in Hebron since Israel issued orders to evacuate
eight settler families from a market area they took over four years ago
after Palestinian gunmen killed a 10-month-old Israeli baby.