Gunmen take over election offices, try to stop registration of Fatah list

(28 Dec 2005) Khan Younis 1. Exterior of Election offices in Khan Younis 2. Various masked militants standing around entrance to election offices 3. Militants walking in street surrounding election offices 4. Various of masked militants surrounding election offices 5. Close up of militant's mask 6. Close up of weapon through a gate 7. Militants walking around 8. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Abu Zakariya, Spokesman of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades "There will not be any elections until they take our national choices seriously. Our choices are the point of view of the Palestinian people and the Fatah members, so for the sake of Fatah they have to count on our choices" 9. Pan down gunmen gathering outside election commission offices. Gaza City 10. Police on street in Gaza 11. Gunmen on roof of house 12. Various gunmen moving into position 13. Various street as shots fired 14. Close up policeman crouched down with firearm 15. Wounded policeman being taken away in vehicle STORYLINE: An activist from the so-called "young guard" of the Palestinians' ruling Fatah party says that a single, unified list of candidates will be submitted for parliamentary elections on January 25. The announcement on Wednesday morning at a news conference by Ahmed Ghneim and Gaza strongman Mohammed Dahlan ends a split within Fatah that could have bolstered electoral support for Hamas. It follows a wave of protests by supporters of the "young guard", who have been seizing Palestinian authority offices. Gunmen temporarily seized the offices of the Central Elections Commission in the Gaza town of Khan Younis on Wednesday morning. The gunmen said they were from the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, a faction of the dominant Fatah party. They were trying to prevent their party from registering a new list of candidates for January parliamentary elections, claiming the list of candidates does not reflect the views of rank and file Fatah members. Police and gunmen eventually resolved the impasse and the gunmen left peacefully. In a separate incident in Gaza City, shots were exchanged between another group of Al-Aqsa Brigade gunmen and Palestinian security forces. At least one policeman was injured. After the shooting a tense standoff ensued. Gunmen in Gaza and parts of the West Bank have repeatedly taken over official buildings and election offices, demanding jobs and changes to election policies ahead of a January parliamentary vote. The standoffs, which have occured almost daily, are seen as a sign of the lawlessness plaguing Palestinian areas, and Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas' inability to impose law and order to his towns and cities. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...