The gate of the Rafah border crossing remained shut for hours after the police storming. (AP)

GAZA CITY, 31 December 2005 — Angry over the killing of a colleague, Palestinian policemen yesterday stormed the Rafah crossing point in the Gaza Strip and forced its closure for much of the day. The unarmed European Union observers — responsible for enforcing the terms of the Israeli-Palestinian agreement that opened the border last month — fled to a nearby Israeli military base.

Gaza has experienced a wave of shootouts, kidnappings and armed takeovers of government buildings in recent months, undermining Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas’ efforts to impose law and order in the wake of Israel’s withdrawal from the area last September. Two days after the abduction of three Britons, the police were completely in the dark about their whereabouts or the identity of their kidnappers.

About 100 policemen, furious over the killing of a colleague, stormed the all-important Rafah border terminal in the morning, firing in the air and taking up positions at the crossing.

The police withdrew from the border in the evening and several hours later, the Europeans reopened the crossing, said Julio de la Guardia, a spokesman for the observers. Traffic across the border quickly resumed in both directions.

The police were protesting the death of a colleague the previous day, and demanded the execution of the gunman who killed the officer. The officer and a civilian were killed in a shootout that erupted between two rival families outside a police station. The violence began when one of the families approached the station to free a relative detained on drug charges, sparking the shootout.

Members of the incarcerated man’s family stormed the police station again yesterday, sparking another deadly shootout. A 14-year-old boy passing through the area was mistakenly shot in the head and died instantly, police said.

Palestinian Interior Ministry spokesman Tawfiq Abu Khoussa said authorities had received a tip and were searching for a white Mazda believed to have been used in the abduction of the Britons.

But Gaza’s police chief, Ala Housni, conceded the kidnappers had not contacted authorities or made any demands. “These are enemies to the Palestinian people,” Housni said at a news conference. “We will get them. If we have to use force we will.”

The aid worker has been identified as Kate Burton, 25. Her father Hugh and mother Helen were visiting her on vacation when they were kidnapped, officials said.

The chaos could threaten international efforts to help rehabilitate Gaza, whose economy is in tatters as it emerges from five years of heavy fighting with Israel. Under the leadership of former international envoy James Wolfensohn, international donors have pledged $3 billion annually for Palestinian reconstruction projects for the next three years, mostly in Gaza.

— Additional input from agencies