Jerusalem: A state of emergency was declared in the Gaza Strip today (Jul 17, 2004) by the Palestinian National Council following a spate of kidnappings involving a police chief, a security official and four French citizens.

The declaration called for beefing up security around Palestinian Government facilities and cancelled all leave requests from security officials.

The announcement came immediately after the gunmen freed the four French citizens and the security official they had been holding hostage in the Southern town of Khan Yunis.

The crisis has put a question mark on the continuation of Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia's Government, the Army Radio said and quoted a Palestinian official as saying that his Government might resign when the Palestinian Authority (PA) gathers for a session later today.

The growing dissatisfaction and lawlessness in the territories has for the first time targeted foreign aid workers and is a reflection of the growing challenge to chairman Yasser Arafat's authority, it said.

The militant factions in the PA have been trying to strengthen their position before Israel carries out the disengagement plan, withdrawing from the Gaza Strip.

The abductors later said that the hostages were freed after intervention by Arafat, United Nations officials and the French consulate in Jerusalem, according to the radio.