Palestinian security forces wounded three gunmen today after they shot at the home of a Palestinian minister, Palestinian security sources and medics said.
The sources said the gunmen had fired at the home of Interior Minister Nasser Yousef while he was inside.
Yousef's bodyguards returned fire and wounded the gunmen who were taken to hospital. Yousef was unhurt.
The sources added that a fourth gunman involved had managed to escape in a car. Security forces set up roadblocks in the West Bank city of Ramallah in an effort to catch him.
Yousef was not immediately available for comment.
In a separate incident, gunmen fired at the office of Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qurie in Ramallah. No one was in the building at the time and no casualties were reported.
It was not immediately clear which of the many armed Palestinian factions the gunmen belonged to or what they wanted.
Lawlessness has been growing in Palestinian areas. President Mahmoud Abbas's authority has been undermined by internal disorder which has intensified in the runup to Palestinian parliamentary elections on Jan. 25.