Gunmen enter Palestinian parliament buildings

Firing into the air, Fatah gunmen stormed the Palestinian parliament today in anger at their long-dominant party's crushing election…

Firing into the air, Fatah gunmen stormed the Palestinian parliament today in anger at their long-dominant party's crushing election defeat by Hamas Islamists.

Hamas leaders meanwhile rejected as "blackmail" Western demands that it renounce violence against Israel or risk losing aid cash vital to the survival of the Palestinian Authority.

Hopes of peacemaking with Israel remained in limbo.

Unrest since the parliamentary election landslide has fuelled fears of inter-Palestinian strife as Hamas tries to form a government and possibly take over security forces packed with Fatah loyalists long at odds with the Islamic militants.

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Thousands of armed loyalists from President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah held protests across the West Bank and in the Gaza Strip, many firing automatic rifles into the air. They took over parliament in the West Bank city of Ramallah for about 20 minutes, shouting demands from the roof before descending peacefully.

Fatah militants joined by police also seized the parliament building in the Gaza Strip. Gunmen demanded that Fatah leaders resign over the election defeat, but also said the protest was to dissuade any thought of sharing power with Hamas or allowing the group to take over security forces.

Firing as they went, Fatah militants moved into Mr Abbas's Muqata compound and gathered at the graveside of Yasser Arafat, Fatah's founder and an icon for Palestinians. The gunmen demanded that Fatah leaders resign, though not Mr Abbas himself.

In Gaza, where eight people were hurt yesterday in clashes between Fatah and Hamas activists, the gunmen were joined in their protest by police who oppose any Hamas control over security forces.

Fatah leaders have so far rejected joining any coalition with Hamas, though it could take weeks to form one. Hamas leaders have said they could set up a government by themselves if need be, after winning votes from Palestinians tired with corruption and Fatah's failure to deliver a state, as well as supportive of a Hamas suicide bombing campaign.

The United States has said it will review aid to the Palestinian Authority if Hamas enters government and Israel suggested it could suspend customs revenue transfers. The European Union, the biggest donor, is looking at its options.

"This aid cannot be a sword over the heads of the Palestinian people ... to blackmail our people, to blackmail Hamas and the resistance. It is rejected," top Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh told Reuters in an interview.

He suggested that Hamas could turn towards sources in the Arab world if the West cut off funding.