Palestinian kidnappers release 3 for payoffs

Five gunmen had seized the church volunteers near their homes.
NABLUS, West Bank (AP) -- Palestinian kidnappers won promises of payoffs for themselves and for comrades in Israeli prisons Saturday in exchange for freeing three foreign church workers including an American, Palestinian officials said.
The promises by the Palestinian Authority came in a new test of strength between militant groups and the security forces, which recently were put under the authority of Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia.
The flare-up indicated that the agreement last week by Qureia and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat to share control of the security forces has failed to calm the underlying tensions that led to a paralyzing leadership crisis between the two men.
Seized near homes
Five gunmen seized the three church volunteers -- an American, a Briton and an Irishman -- Friday night near their apartments and took them to the Balata refugee camp.
At around the same time, about a dozen armed men broke into the governor's building in the northern West Bank town of Jenin and set it on fire.
Both groups demanded financial support from the Palestinian Authority, which gives unofficial payments to militants sought by Israel, according to security officials and the militants themselves.
The Palestinian Authority officially denies that it funds the militants, but some officials, including lawmakers, say support is given to militants who pledge not to attack targets inside Israel.
Officials said the kidnappers, who belonged to a splinter group of the Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, were told that all their demands will be met and that the abduction was undermining the Palestinian cause in the eyes of the world.
Copyright 2004 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.