Palestinian gunmen abducted an Egyptian diplomat on a Gaza street on Thursday, firing at his car and then dragging him into another vehicle and driving away, witnesses said.
The Egyptian representative office identified the diplomat as Hussam el-Musli. Israel’s YnetNews web site said he served as Egypt’s military attache in Gaza.
The motive for the abduction, the first in Gaza in nearly three weeks, was not clear and there was no immediate claim of responsibility.
Witnesses said gunmen shot out the tire of the car in which Musli was traveling and put another bullet into its fender, forcing it to stop. They then dragged him to their vehicle and sped away.
Gaza has seen a rash of kidnappings since Israel’s pullout in September. Musli was the first diplomat to be abducted in Gaza, where foreigners seized by militants with gripes against the Palestinian Authority have been released quickly.
All Palestinian factions say they have good relations with Egypt, which has twice brokered a truce between militants and Israel.
But a power struggle among militant factions, gangs and security forces has intensified in Gaza since the Israeli withdrawal and a victory by the Islamic group Hamas in the January 25 Palestinian parliamentary election.
