Members of the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade detonated a bomb along the Egypt-Gaza Strip border early Wednesday morning, allegedly in protest of the arrest of a colleague suspected of kidnapping of three Westerners last week.
Earlier, Palestinian security forces had arrested a man suspected of kidnapping a British human rights worker in the Strip along with her parents.
The three were released unharmed after two days, while the Brigades of the Mujahideen-Jerusalem group claimed responsibility for the abduction, according to Reuters.
Also in protest of the arrest, some 20 members of the group stormed a Palestinian government office in the town of Rafah on Tuesday, before being persuaded to leave by Palestinian security forces.
The gunmen, part of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah faction, forced their way into the building armed with assault rifles and rocket propelled grenade launchers.
Palestinian rocket fire, Israeli artillery fire continues in northern Gaza
Meanwhile in the northern Gaza Strip, two Qassam rockets were fired by Palestinians on the southern Israeli town of Sderot. The Israeli military responded with aerial bombardment of eight roads used to transport the rockets, as well as with artillery fire in the newly designated "buffer zone."
The recent violence in the Gaza Strip comes weeks before Palestinian parliamentary elections are scheduled to take place on January 25, with candidates campaigning throughout the West Bank and Gaza.
However, Israeli security forces barred Palestinians from electioneering in East Jerusalem on Tuesday, where Israel has announced that no elections will take place unless the Hamas faction drops out of the race.
President Abbas announced earlier in the week that if the voting ban on East Jerusalem remains in place, he would cancel the elections in protest.
The United States has expressed its hope that the elections will run as scheduled, and has urged Israel to reverse its decision.
A White House spokesman said, "We believe that people must have access to the ballot. Arrangements have been made in the past to ensure that those persons can vote and we believe some arrangements should be possible at this time," according to AFP.
Palestinian killed in West Bank
In the West Bank, Israeli troops shot and killed a Palestinian man during a raid south of the town of Hebron. The troops claimed that the man was armed at the time and had fired in their direction, prompting them to return fire.
In a subsequent search of a store owned by the victim, Israeli military authorities reportedly found a stash of weapons, including several handguns and an explosive device.
During the course of the raids Israeli troops also arrested six Palestinians wanted by Israeli authorities. Five of the men were arrested north of Ramallah in the town of Jilazun, all of the men were members of the Hamas faction, while in the town of Hizma, a Tanzim member was also arrested.
© 2006 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
