Security men demonstrate in Gaza

See the protest

Hundreds of Palestinian security men threw stones at the Gaza parliament building, breaking windows, in a protest about unpaid salaries.

They demanded the government pay wages for the first time since February.

Some demonstrators fired in to the air and tried to break into the offices, but they were stopped by guards.

A day earlier the Hamas-led government announced it could pay salaries to only one quarter of its employees.

The participants in the demonstration are members of the Fatah movement, the main political rival of the Islamic militant Hamas organisation.

According to estimates, about one million Palestinians rely on government salaries in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

The government said that it found the treasury empty after it took office in March.

Israel has stopped transferring tax revenues it collects for the Palestinian Authority, and donor states have also stopped financial support.

Donors have demanded that Hamas renounce violence and recognise Israel's right to exist as a condition of financial support.