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Three U.S. women seized in West Bank: source
Tue Feb 20, 2007 11:59am ET


By Atef Sa'ad

NABLUS, West Bank (Reuters) - Three American women were seized in the occupied West Bank on Tuesday, near the city of Nablus, a senior Palestinian security source told Reuters.

No Palestinian group claimed responsibility for any kidnapping.

"We received a tip that three American women were abducted. We are checking," the source said, adding no further details were immediately available.


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If the women were abducted by militants it would be the first abduction of foreigners since January 23 when a French diplomat and two bodyguards were held for a few hours.

At least 18 foreigners have been abducted by Palestinians in the past year, mostly in the Gaza Strip. They were all later released, within hours or days.

Security has fallen apart in Gaza and the West Bank amid a bitter power struggle between the ruling Hamas militant group and the Fatah faction of President Mahmoud Abbas.

More than 90 Palestinians have been killed in factional fighting since December. The fighting has subsided since the groups reached a preliminary agreement to form a unity government in talks in Saudi Arabia earlier this month.


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