Italian briefly kidnapped as Gaza chaos grows

GAZA - Masked Palestinian gunmen briefly kidnapped an Italian peace activist in the Gaza Strip and blew up a United Nations club in separate incidents that underscored growing unrest.

They dealt an embarrassing blow to President Mahmoud Abbas just hours after he had vowed to end disorder that threatens to derail a January 25 election and as militant groups spurned his plea to renew a truce with Israel.

Top members of his Fatah group said the ballot should be delayed if chaos continued and if Israel implemented a threat to bar voting in East Jerusalem in protest at the participation of Hamas, which is bent on destroying the Jewish state.

Firing shots in the air, the gunmen seized Alessandro Bernardini during a visit by a delegation of 18 Italians ahead of the parliamentary election. He was freed after several hours. Three British hostages were set free in Gaza on Friday.

Palestinian security forces said they briefly came under fire from the kidnappers, but found the gunmen had abandoned Bernardini before they reached the building where he was being held.

"I am fine, I am fine ... They gave me cigarettes and tea," Bernardini told reporters, looking shaken but unhurt.

"I will never change my idea about the occupation," he said, referring to Israel's occupation of land that Palestinians seek for a state. "I am with the Palestinian people."

An armed offshoot of Abbas's own ruling Fatah movement said it carried out the kidnapping.

The faction, calling itself Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades-Sunni People, said its demands were a full investigation into the death of Yasser Arafat in 2004 and the removal of corrupt leaders from Fatah.

Top Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat condemned the kidnapping as harmful to the quest for a state.

"Those irresponsible people are working against the interest of the Palestinians. They are trying to destroy the good Palestinian image in the world. We will bring them to justice. Enough is enough," he said.

Hours earlier, gunmen stormed a United Nations club in Gaza City and blew up the bar -- the only place where alcohol is served openly in the conservative Muslim territory. Nobody was hurt, but the attack added to security fears.

The United Nations is generally seen favourably in Gaza, where it is the second biggest employer after the Palestinian Authority.

Chaos has grown in the Gaza Strip since the departure of Israeli troops in September after 38 years of occupation intensified a power struggle among militant factions, gangs and security forces.

The disorder has worsened in the run-up to January 25 parliamentary elections.

Abbas has said he does not want a delay in the polls, but some in his fractured Fatah movement support the move because Fatah is struggling against a challenge from Islamic militants who many Palestinians see as less tainted by corruption.

A major flare-up of violence with Israel could also force an election postponement. Palestinian officials have appealed to armed factions to renew the commitment they made last year to a "period of calm".

Militant factions said that as of January 1 they had abandoned the de facto truce that has delivered the longest lull in violence since the start of the Palestinian uprising in 2000.

Israeli troops shot dead two Palestinian militants in Gaza on Saturday after rocket attacks from a "no-go zone" it declared in the north of the strip last week to curb cross-border fire.

Palestinians say the buffer zone is tantamount to re-occupying areas that Israel gave up last year.

- REUTERS