Three wounded in Palestinian gun battle

GAZA, Mar 20 (Reuters) Three Palestinians were wounded in a gun battle today between Palestinian security forces and militants who blocked a main Gaza road in a protest to demand jobs, witnesses said.

Earlier, security forces exchanged fire with gunmen who took over a power relay station in Gaza.

Armed men also tried to take control of a military hospital in the territory to demand outstanding salaries. Police dispersed them without injuries.

Such incidents have become increasingly common in the Gaza Strip since Israel pulled out last September and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas failed to deliver on promises of employment for militants who had fought Israeli forces.

In the fighting on the main north-south Gaza highway, a militant was critically wounded and two policemen were hurt, the witnesses said.

The cash-strapped Palestinian Authority has had problems paying some of its 150,000 employees and could face difficulties garnering foreign aid once a government led by Hamas, the militant group that won the January 25 election, is sworn in.

REUTERS DKS VC1435