CHAOS IN GAZA

Disgruntled Policemen Block Roads in Gaza.

JERUSALEM - 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.

Gaza gunmen reject storing arms for vote: minister.

GAZA (Reuters) - Militants in Gaza have rejected a Palestinian Authority plan to put their weapons in storage during next week’s parliamentary election as a way to reduce the risk of violence, the Interior Minister said on Monday. ...Palestinian Interior Minister Nasser Yousef said a proposal had been made for factions in Gaza to collect their own weapons just before the ballot and put them into a storage area to which they would have one key and the Palestinian Authority another. “But they rejected the proposal,” Yousef he told reporters. Yousef said the Palestinian Authority had offered police protection to faction leaders in Gaza in the hope that they would leave their armed bodyguards at home on election day. But that too was rejected. Khader Habib, an Islamic Jihad leader, confirmed the proposal was rejected, but denied that the group’s weapons contributed to Gaza’s “chaos and anarchy” or threatened security during the elections. Habib said the armed factions “know better how to protect their leaders.” “Arms of resistance cannot and must not be collected or put away,” he said.