Angry gunmen from President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah movement closed roads in the West Bank city of Nablus Tuesday, accusing the Hamas-led coalition government of failing to protect the people.

The move came after Israeli forces arrested Jamal al-Tirawi, the spokesman of Fatah's parliamentary bloc, and 18 members of Fatah's military wing in predawn raids in the city.

It is the first time that the troops seize a lawmaker from Fatah. Last week, the army snatched a Hamas minister and three lawmakers from the Islamic movement.

The protesters also burnt tires on the streets, threatening to escalate their activities against the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) in general and the Hamas-led coalition government in particular.

"This is not the last step against the Palestinian government which we accuse of colluding with the occupation and which provides no security for the lawmakers and the fighters," said a spokesman for the protesters.

Some 43 legislators representing Hamas are held in Israel since the Israeli army launched a crackdown last summer in response to the capturing of an Israeli soldier by three Hamas-led militant groups in Gaza.

Source: Xinhua