Gaza City, Gaza Strip – The Palestinians’ ruling Fatah Party overcame a split Wednesday that threatened to hand victory to Hamas militants in parliamentary elections next month, submitting a unified list of candidates.
But chaos reigned in Gaza, undermining efforts by Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas to show that he has taken control after Israel’s summer pullout.
Israel began enforcing a no-go zone in northern Gaza, firing shells and threatening to shoot anyone who approaches the border – an attempt to stop Palestinian rocket fire.
A Palestinian boy, 14, was slightly wounded by a shell fragment, Palestinian doctors said.
Fatah-affiliated gunmen staged violent protests to demand their own spots on the list of candidates, briefly seizing election offices and exchanging gunfire with police.
Also, three British citizens were kidnapped at the Rafah crossing from Egypt into Gaza. It was not known who took them, but such abductions are becoming relatively common in Gaza and usually end after a few hours with no one harmed. The kidnappers usually demand jobs or freedom for imprisoned relatives.
Several hours before the bombardment, the Israelis dropped leaflets in Gaza to warn people to stay away from the border.
Defiant militants fired two rockets at Israel just before the barrage began. There are no villages in the target area.
Since Israel pulled out of Gaza in the summer and tore down its 21 settlements, militants have been able to come closer to the border to fire their homemade rockets, increasing their range to include the outskirts of the city of Ashkelon. Over the past 10 days, two rockets have exploded in an industrial area that includes a power plant and a fuel depot.
