Italian kidnapped in Gaza

[sonz]

Palestinian gunmen have kidnapped an Italian in the Gaza Strip town of Khan Yunus, witnesses say.

Armed men in two cars stopped a minibus carrying 10 foreigners as it was driving through the town, forced one passenger out and into one of their vehicles before speeding away to an unknown destination, other passengers said.

The hostage - identified as Alcandro Pero, a peace activist -was part of a delegation of 19, which included European parliament members and teachers who were visiting Gaza, Aljazeera.net's correspondent in Gaza, Laila el-Haddad, reports.

The group was to visit the elections campaign office of Palestian Legislative Council candidate Salam Fayad, former finance minister and head of the Third Way list.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility, and Palestinian officials were not immediately available to comment.

The abduction is the latest in a rash of kidnappings in Gaza since Israel's withdrawal from the coastal strip in September.

Britons freed

On Friday, three Britons were released after being held by gunmen for two days.
Palestinian security officials said the Britons were abducted by gunmen with ties to Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas' ruling Fatah party.


The kidnappers said they were members of a previously unknown group, the Mujahidin Brigades Jerusalem Branch.
The group threatened more abductions of foreigners if Israel did not abolish a "no-go" zone it declared last week on its border with the northern Gaza Strip.
Israel put the area off-limits last week in an effort to prevent rocket fire there, and threatened to shoot anyone entering the zone.

Elections
On Saturday, two Palestinians were killed in an Israeli air strike on the zone.

The abductions are part of an increasing wave of lawlessness on Palestinian streets in recent months, with armed gangs storming government buildings and election offices, as well as kidnapping foreigners and shooting at each other in the streets.

Some Palestinian officials, including Abu Zaydeh, have urged postponement of the 25 January Palestinian parliamentary elections in light of the growing chaos.
Foreigners have been kidnapped as bargaining chips to get relatives released from Palestinian prisons, secure jobs from the Palestinian Authority, or settle personal scores.
The kidnappings have all been relatively brief and all the hostages have been released unharmed.