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Jul. 16, 2004 22:14 | Updated Jul. 17, 2004 11:13
Kidnapped French citizens released in Gaza
ASSOCIATED PRESS

The Palestinian cabinet is scheduled to meet Saturday in Ramallah following a chain of kidnappings by Palestinian factions in the Gaza Strip and the growing lawlessness there.

The Palestinian national security council has announced a state of emergency; the IDF has reiterated its ban on the entry of Israelis into the area; and the Palestinian cabinet under Ahmed Qurei is expected to announce its resignation.

The declaration by the Palestinian security council called for increased protection around government facilities and canceled all leave for security officials, reports AP.

On Friday night, Gaza preventive security chief Rashid Abu Shabak announced his resignation, as did the head of general intelligence, Amin Al Hindi, but PA chairman Yasser Arafat refused to accept these resignations.

Army Radio reports that overnight, all abductees were released, including five French aid-workers, Director of Military Coordination Col. Khaled Abu Aloula and Gaza police chief Ghazi Jabali, after Arafat agreed to dismiss and indict him on charges of corruption.

All French abductees kidnapped Friday by Palestinian factions in the Gaza Strip were released Saturday, according to Palestinian sources quoted on Reuters. Two of the women were released earlier, after the kidnappers said their religion forbade them from harming women.

Earlier this morning, the French foreign minister – speaking to the AFP news service – confirmed the release.

Palestinian gunmen held five French citizens hostage late Friday in the Gaza Strip, after kidnapping them while they drank coffee in the southern town of Khan Younis.

The hostages - two women and three men - were being held in a Khan Younis building that houses the offices of the Red Crescent Society.

The building was surrounded by gunmen, holding Palestinian security officials and a crowd of curious onlookers at bay. At one point the gunmen, wearing black ski masks and brandishing automatic weapons, fired several bursts into the air.

Israel Radio reported the five hostages worked for a humanitarian organization. It provided no other details. In the wake of the kidnappings, the IDF has placed a ban on Israelis entering the Gaza Strip until further notice. The army said the ban includes Israeli journalists.

The Radio also reported that negotiations were held to free the five French hostages, and that their condition was "good."

Palestinian officials said that two senior Palestinian security officials in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip have resigned in protest over the day's chaos.

In Paris, the French Foreign Ministry on Friday said it was unable to immediately confirm that the hostage-taking took place, or provide any other information.

The kidnapping was the third in Gaza in less than 10 hours.

The spate of abductions reflected the growing tussle by militant groups and individuals to strengthen their positions before Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon fulfills his pledge to withdraw Israeli forces and some 7,500 settlers from Gaza late next year.

They also added to the problems of the Palestinian Authority, which has been undermined by Israeli attacks on the police, while the influence of militant organizations has grown.

Earlier Friday Col. Khaled Abu Aloula, Director of Military Coordination in the southern part of the territory was taken from his car as he returned to Gaza City from Khan Younis.

Palestinian security officials said the kidnappers were Palestinian policemen who had recently been fired from their jobs. The officials said that earlier in the day Aloula had refused their request to help reinstate them.

Also Friday Palestinian gunmen freed Palestinian Chief of Police Ghazi Jabali after kidnapping him in a highway ambush that deepened the sense of chaos ahead of an announced withdrawal from Gaza by Israel.

Jabali was kidnapped by armed men who exchanged gunfire with his bodyguards on the highway five kilometers (3 miles) south of Gaza City. Two bodyguards were wounded.

Witnesses said the gunmen smashed the car window, pulled Jabali out and sped off in the direction of the Bureij Refugee Camp.

Hours later, Jabali was released and driven in a convoy of Palestinian security officers and officials of Arafat's Fatah party to his office in Gaza City, where he greeted supporters in his uniform and black beret.

A group from the little-known Jenin Martyrs Brigade claimed responsibility for the abduction. But other militants said the gunmen were members of a militia that Jabali himself had created to back his bid for power after the Israelis leave Gaza.

Several new armed organizations have appeared in Gaza, many of them grouped under the umbrella of the Palestinian Popular Resistance Committee. The committee, which has no clear political agenda or ideology, was pressing for more jobs in the police force for its members.

As head of the police forces, Jabali has been identified as Arafat's "enforcer," a tough leader known for cracking down on any dissenters.

But Jabali has made enemies over the years among Palestinians who see him as part of the corruption that riddled the Gaza administration.

Jabali has been the target of several attacks this year. He escaped harm in April when terrorists planted a bomb at the door of his home. He has clashed with Mohammed Dahlan, the former Palestinian security chief who also is bidding to bolster his position as the Israelis prepare to leave.