West Bank ? The Palestinian central election commission said Tuesday it was suspending all its activities after a rash of attacks against its workers.

The decision came just a day before the end of a candidate registration period, and was the latest sign that chaos and violence could undermine the Jan. 25 parliamentary election.

In Tuesday’s violence, masked gunmen stormed election offices in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. The gunmen fired in the air, destroyed computers and ordered workers out of the buildings – all with little or no interference by Palestinian police. There were no reports of serious injuries.

Palestinian election officials said they had halted operations until the Palestinian Authority could guarantee the safety of their workers.