Mahmoud Zahar, a leader of the fundamentalist Hamas movement, threatened "bloodshed'' unless the 210 activists detained after the kidnapping of Israeli soldier Nachshon Waxman were released.
Palestinian officials persuaded the crowd to disperse after three hours, releasing 60 detainees and promising the rest would be home within days.
It was the third day of anti-Arafat protest in Gaza, where a fragile coexistence between the five-month-old autonomy government and its fundamentalist opposition appears to have been unbalanced by the kidnapping of the Israeli soldier.
Waxman was killed by his captors when Israeli commandos stormed the house where he was being held Friday night.
One commando and three of the kidnappers were also killed.
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