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| Israel-Palestine |
| Five French citizens released amid wave of kidnappings in Gaza Strip |
| 2004-07-16 |
| Palestinian gunmen agreed to release five French citizens late Friday in the Gaza Strip, after kidnapping them while they drank coffee in the southern town of Khan Younis, a Palestinian official said. Witnesses saw two French women leaving the offices of the Red Crescent Society in Khan Younis, where they had been held for three hours, escorted by Palestinian security officials. The three men held hostage were not immediately sighted, they said. It was the third kidnapping in Gaza in less than 10 hours, and two Palestinian security officials faxed their resignations to Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat in response to the deteriorating security situation. Arafat refused to accept the resignations, however, the officials said. Israel radio said the five were humanitarian workers, but their identities were not known. In Paris, the French Foreign Ministry said it was unable to immediately confirm that the hostage-taking took place, or provide any other information. In Jerusalem, a Palestinian official said the Palestinian government would meet early Saturday to discuss the spate of kidnappings. Two senior Palestinian security who offered their resignations were Maj.-Gen. Amin al Hindi, the head of the Palestinian intelligence service, and Rashid Abu Shbak, head of Preventive Security in the Gaza Strip. |
| Posted by:Mark Espinola |