Palestinian gunmen burst into a government complex in the Gaza Strip on Thursday to demand that ruling party primaries, suspended because of fraud and violence, be allowed to proceed.

The protest by dozens of al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades militants came just three days after gunmen from the same group forced polling stations in Gaza to close. It underlined the chaotic divisions in President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah party.

Fatah militants and young leaders are demanding a greater say in decision-making ahead of January parliamentary elections, in which the party faces a strong challenge from the Islamic group Hamas.

Gunmen armed with assault rifles and rocket propelled grenade launchers burst into the Gaza City compound housing finance and interior ministries, though no shots were fired.

The militants branded the elections to select Fatah's candidates for parliamentary polls a "terrible failure," but said that they should still not be halted.

"The Fatah grassroots should decide who they want to represent them in the parliament," a spokesman for the group said in a statement. "We are against appointments."

Abbas has scrambled to salvage the primaries. The Fatah Central Committee also decided to name a 24-member review board, chaired by Abbas, to finalize a list of candidates for the election.

Last week, party primaries held in some cities in the occupied West Bank saw veteran Fatah politicians cast aside in favor of newcomers and militants. But those elections were rocked by allegations of fraud and ballot-stuffing.

Fatah later halted similar polls in the Gaza Strip after Fatah gunmen, including some from the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, stormed some polling places to complain the vote was unfair. They said thousands of names were missing from voter rolls.

The primaries are expected to resume on Friday, but only in areas where voting had yet to begin -- and that excludes much of Gaza.

In the last parliamentary polls in 1996, the late Yasser Arafat handpicked all the candidates. But this time, younger members of Fatah's leadership demanded a primary to challenge the dominance of an old guard that is widely viewed as corrupt.

Gaza has grown increasingly turbulent since Israel withdrew from the territory after 38 years of occupation. Abbas has been trying to assert control over the strip, which is seen as a testing ground for Palestinian statehood.

(Chinadaily.com via agencies December 2, 2005)