The armed wing of Hamas late Monday said it had freed a senior Fatah official who was abducted earlier in the Gaza Strip. Abu Ubaida, a spokesman for the armed wing, said Sufyan Abu Zaida, a former Palestinian minister, had been freed as "a gesture of goodwill despite the fact a leading Hamas figure remained a captive of Fatah."
On its part, the armed wing of Fatah kidnapped 11 Hamas men in response to Abu Zaida's abduction.
Abu Zaida was kidnapped in the Gaza Strip earlier Monday evening, officials said. Abu Zaida, a Fatah member, was captured in the northern Gaza Strip, an official said. A Palestinian security source said Hamas gunmen abducted a total of nine Fatah activists on Monday.
Fatah sources said earlier Monday evening that gunmen had killed a Fatah activist in the Jabalya refugee camp northern Gaza Strip and injured three others, as factional violence continued in the Strip despite the truce declared the night before. The sources blamed the attack on Hamas.
© 2006 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
