Palestinian militants release intelligence officer
Reuters
Date: 07-29-05
By Nidal al-Mughrabi
GAZA (Reuters) - Palestinian militants freed on Saturday a Palestinian intelligence officer they had kidnapped two days earlier, bringing to an end a series of tit-for-tat abductions.
Gunmen from the Jenin Martyrs Brigades had snatched Jihad Abed from his car in Gaza and took him to an undisclosed location in a Palestinian refugee camp.
The incident was the latest example of factional rivalry in the West Bank and Gaza, part of a violent political culture that President Mahmoud Abbas has vowed to combat.
A Jenin Martyrs Brigades spokesman said the group had interrogated Abed.
"He gave a full confession to crimes he committed, including murder and blackmail," the spokesman said. "His file and tape-recorded confession will be handed tomorrow to the Palestinian general prosecutor so that he can stand trial."
"We are not against the law, and we will let the judiciary decide his fate," he said.
Abed was freed hours after Palestinian police rescued an Australian woman and Palestinian who his family had abducted a day after his kidnapping in a bid to put pressure on Abbas's government to secure the release of the intelligence officer.
A Palestinian security source said officers had negotiated with the family before they agreed to free Palestinian Steve Sabella, a freelance photographer from Jerusalem, and the Australian, who was not immediately identified.
The Jenin Martyrs Brigades, among a plethora of armed factions in Gaza, declined comment after Thursday's abduction, and the motive for kidnapping Abed was not immediately known.
The group has in the past accused Palestinian military intelligence officials of trying to round up its gunmen, who are ex-activists of Abbas's Fatah movement.
Abed previously served as office director for former military intelligence chief Musa Arafat, who was retired by Abbas several months ago as part of moves to reform disorganized and corruption-plagued security services.
Source
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