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Briton to stay in Gaza despite kidnap ordeal

JERUSALEM - A British human rights activist released by Gaza kidnappers said Saturday she would stay in the region despite threats by militants to seize more foreigners, as Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas warned that the growing lawlessness is hurting economic development and statehood aspirations.

Abbas also said the chaos would not derail elections for Parliament set for Jan. 25.

However, the Palestinian leader has been unable to impose order, particularly in Gaza, where dozens of armed groups affiliated with his Fatah Party have seized hostages, stormed public buildings and attacked police stations in recent months - either to press demands for government jobs or to settle personal feuds.

In one incident Saturday, gunmen demanding jobs briefly seized a government building in the central Gaza town of Deir el Balah. Another group of armed men, including off-duty police, set up an impromptu roadblock near the Gaza-Egypt border, threatening to prevent VIPs from crossing, as part of a fight between police and a local clan.

Briton Kate Burton, 25, and her parents, Hugh and Helen, were freed in Gaza late Friday and driven to Jerusalem in armored cars. In a statement issued Saturday, the Burtons said they were treated "extremely well."

Hugh and Helen Burton were to leave for Europe over the weekend, British officials said.

Kate Burton said she "plans to stay in the region and continue working with the Palestinian people." She is expected to return to Gaza within several days to resume working for the group Al-Mezan, said its head, Kamal Sharafi.

The Burtons' abduction was the latest in a rash of kidnappings of foreigners by Palestinian gunmen. Palestinian security officials said the Burtons were abducted by gunmen with ties to Fatah. The kidnappers said they were members of a previously unknown group, the Mujahedeen Brigades Jerusalem Branch.

The group threatened more abductions of foreigners if Israel does not abolish its "no-go" zone in the northern Gaza Strip. Israel imposed the off-limits area this week to prevent rocket fire and has threatened to shoot anyone entering the zone.

The kidnappers said they would seize international election observers if their demands were not met. Mathias Eick, a spokesman for the observers, said Saturday the group did not plan to change its deployment ahead of the election, but would keep assessing the risk.

In Jerusalem, 19 candidates affiliated with Fatah threatened to withdraw their candidacy, ostensibly because of Israeli restrictions on voting in the disputed city. However, election officials said the Fatah candidates appeared upset over their ranking on the party list.

Israel has threatened to prevent voting in Jerusalem, even long-distance balloting via post offices, but government officials said Saturday a final decision on procedure had not been made. U.S. envoys were expected in the region next week to try to sort out the dispute. Both sides claim Jerusalem as a capital and attach great symbolic importance to how elections are conducted in Jerusalem.

[Last modified January 1, 2006, 00:29:14]