RAMALLAH, West Bank - International observers toured army roadblocks in the West Bank and Gaza Strip on Saturday, and Palestinian officials complained Israel wasn't fully complying with promises to ease travel restrictions ahead of presidential elections to replace the late Yasser Arafat.

At one Gaza checkpoint, hundreds of cars were forced to wait early Saturday. Palestinians reported that a 60-year-old taxi passenger was killed by army fire at the barrier. The army said soldiers fired at a gunman approaching on foot.

Later Saturday, traffic eased considerably. Israeli military officials said efforts were made to speed up passage through roadblocks, but that security remains the top priority.

Palestinian election officials said preparations for Sunday's vote were complete, and that ballot boxes had been distributed to more than 1,000 polling stations in the West Bank and Gaza.

Election officials were unable to deliver ballots to eight villages near Nablus because of curfews and closures, said Rami Hamdallah, the secretary-general of the Central Election Commission. Hamdallah said he was in touch with Israel to coordinate the handover of the boxes in the eight villages.

On Friday, Palestinian gunmen killed a soldier and wounded three in an ambush near the West Bank city of Nablus, prompting Israel to warn Palestinian leaders that it would reconsider its promise of easing restrictions if it was exploited by militants.

Israel delivered the warning through international observers headed by former President Carter and former French Prime Minister Michel Rocard, according to Israeli officials and a spokesman for Carter's team, Les Campbell.

Carter met Saturday with the front-runner in the race, Palestinian interim leader Mahmoud Abbas, the candidate of the ruling Fatah movement. After the meeting, Carter visited Arafat's grave in the West Bank city of Ramallah.

Observer teams were touring checkpoints Saturday to see whether restrictions were being eased, Campbell said.

Palestinian Cabinet minister Saeb Erekat said nothing had changed on the ground. "I urge the Israeli government to honor its commitment to lift the siege and restrictions. This is really threatening to undermine free and fair elections," he said.

However, Israeli officials said the military had only promised to ease restrictions, not lift them.

In response to Friday's shooting, the military imposed a curfew on four Palestinian villages near Nablus, with residents barred from leaving their homes.

At the two main checkpoints leading into Nablus, restrictions remained in place, with those under age 25 barred from entering, residents reported. However, troops withdrew Saturday from the Balata refugee camp near Nablus, a militant stronghold.

Polls open at 7 a.m. Sunday and close 12 hours later; 1.8 million Palestinians are eligible to vote. Two polling companies are conducting exit polls whose results will be announced Sunday evening. Final results are expected overnight Sunday to Monday.

Friday's attack was carried out by the Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigade, a violent group with ties to Fatah. The shooting underscored Abbas' difficulties in reining in militants - a key Israeli demand to move forward with the U.S.-backed "road map" peace plan.

An Al Aqsa militant, speaking from Lebanon, said Saturday that the gunmen involved in the attack had the backing of the Lebanese guerrilla group Hezbollah. The militant, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the Hezbollah-backed Al Aqsa gunmen would not agree to a cease-fire, even though other members of the group are ready to halt attacks and give peace negotiations a chance.

Al Aqsa consists of gangs of gunmen with little central direction. Some of the groups appear open to attempts by Abbas to co-opt them into the Palestinian security.