GAZA, Jan. 4 (Xinhuanet) -- Discontented Palestinian militants smashed through part of the border wall between Gaza and Egypt by stolen bulldozers on Wednesday, Palestinian witnesses said.

   Dozens of militants, members of the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade which is an armed wing of the dominant Fatah movement, made a hole with a diameter of about 8 meters in the concrete wall, part of the border fence on the Gaza-Egypt border, using two stolen bulldozers, the witnesses said.

   They said that hundreds of Palestinians had tried to force their way into Egypt through the hole, but were blocked by dozens of Palestinian police.

   The militants also fired into the air while trying to pull down the wall, said the witnesses, adding that the situation at the border was very tense.

   Palestinian security sources confirmed the incident, saying more security forces were sent to the region for reinforcement.  

   The militants said they attacked the border wall in protest against the arrest of an al-Aqsa leader by Palestinian police and demanded his release.

   Alla al-Hams was arrested in the southern Gaza town of Rafah on Tuesday night for alleged involvement in the kidnapping of three Britons last week.

   The hostages were released unharmed after three days in captivity.

   Earlier, the same group of militants rampaged in Rafah, forced the key Rafah crossing on the Gaza-Egypt border into a brief shutdown and occupied several government buildings nearby.

   The militants threatened to disrupt polls in Rafah in the upcoming Palestinian parliamentary elections scheduled for Jan. 25 if al-Hams is not freed.

   The incident further underscored prevalent chaos in the Gaza Strip, from which Israel withdrew in September after 38 years of occupation.

   It is seen as another blow to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in his uphill battle to stem out chaos. Enditem