Palestinian Official Kidnapped In Nablus: Security Sources

NABLUS, West Bank, July 21 (AFP) - A senior local official was kidnapped by masked gunmen Wednesday in this northern West Bank town, Palestinian security sources told AFP.
The Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, an armed offshoot of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's Fatah movement, said in a phone call to AFP that they had abducted Fadel Asshuli, who is in charge of village affairs in the Nablus area.
Asshuli was driving away from his home when masked gunmen forced him to stop and to board their vehicle.
The abduction follows an unprecedented spate of kidnappings in the Gaza Strip on Friday which prompted prime minister Ahmed Qorei to submit his resignation and a revamp of the security services.
The Palestinian parliament endorsed a damning report of the government's handling of the security crisis earlier Wednesday and called on Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat to accept Qorei's resignation.