Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas ordered a crackdown on Ramallah militants today after gunmen fired at his compound while he was inside.
The group of 15 militants attacked the compound yesterday before rampaging through the city, damaging several restaurants and forcing shops to close, officials said.
There were no injuries reported. Police in the West Bank town of Tulkarem today demanded the surrender of seven armed Palestinians who burned down a Palestinian checkpoint overnight.
In a meeting with security officials after the shooting spree, Mr Abbas ordered the militants arrested, more troops deployed throughout the city and compensation paid to the businesses that were damaged, security officials said.
The gunmen - who said they were members of the Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, an armed group linked to the ruling Fatah movement - said they went on their rampage after Palestinian security officials forced six of them out of the Ramallah headquarters, where they had sought refuge after Israel began hunting down fugitives shortly after violence erupted in September 2000.
Mr Arafat had allowed more than 20 fugitives to remain in his compound, and Mr Abbas had followed suit.
Internal fighting has plagued the Palestinian territories for months, largely the result of a breakdown in authority and command caused by more than four years of fighting with Israel that severely debilitated the security forces and other Palestinian Authority institutions.
Mr Abbas - who was elected president in a January 9th vote after the November death of Yasser Arafat - has vowed to bring law and order to Palestinian areas, and reform his overlapping and corruption-plagued security forces.