The Palestinian central election commission shut its doors Tuesday in protest after masked gunmen burst into its

West Bank and Gaza offices, firing in the air and hauling off computers — jeopardizing next month’s parliamentary election, the first in a decade. Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas orders his security forces to protect election workers, but officials privately conceded that violence could endanger the Jan. 25 vote — seen as a key to establishing a credible government that could conduct peace talks with

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