Palestinian militants seized a French diplomat and his two bodyguards on Tuesday in the West Bank city of Nablus, and released them two hours later to another French envoy, witnesses and the militants said.

A spokesman for the al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, the military wing of Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah party, said weapons carried by the bodyguards had initially raised suspicions the men were undercover Israeli soldiers.

The gunmen handed the hostages over to a French diplomat, and a reporter saw them leave a building a short time later. Witnesses said they saw them being punched and kicked when they were seized, but they appeared unharmed when they were freed.

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"When we were sure they were French and we saw their diplomatic accreditation, we took them to a safe place," said one of the gunmen, who identified himself only as Mehdi.

"We do not consider what happened an abduction. It was a misunderstanding."

The French Foreign Ministry earlier confirmed three French citizens had been kidnapped and that it had been making efforts to win their release.

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

Security has fallen apart in Gaza and the West Bank amid a bitter power struggle between the ruling Hamas party and Abbas's Fatah.

At least 30 Palestinians have been killed in violence between rival factions in Gaza since Abbas called for new elections last month after talks failed to forge a unity government with Hamas.

Meanwhile, masked Palestinian gunmen blew up a vacant resort in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, claiming they belonged to Al-Qaida and that the holiday complex is owned by Fatah strongman Mohammed Dahlan, its manager said.

Dahlan is a top adviser to Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, whose Fatah faction is locked in a power struggle with the governing Islamist Hamas movement.

"They destroyed the large wedding and conference room with several huge bombs. They planted bombs in some of the rooms, destroying the southern part of the resort," said Bashir Thari, manager of the al-Waha complex.

Thari said about 40 gunmen, masked and heavily armed, took part in the attack and abducted, but later freed, three guards.

"They asked them whether the resort belonged to Dahlan," Thari said. "The guards said 'no, al-Waha belongs to a Palestinian businessman, not to Dahlan.'"

He said the gunmen told the guards: "Al-Qaida has arrived in Gaza and we will destroy every place owned by Dahlan and bomb him, too."

Officials close to Dahlan denied he has any stake in the resort.

Palestinian officials have denied any Al-Qaida presence in the Gaza Strip and West Bank, and Abbas and security officials have said they were working hard to prevent the group from establishing a foothold in the territories.

Last week, Dahlan warned Hamas that he would "protect" Fatah members from being killed by gunmen from the Islamist group.

In an attack on Tuesday, unknown gunmen shot and wounded Thiab Abu Eida, a Fatah member who runs a post office in the northern Gaza Strip, local residents said.

At least 30 Palestinians have been killed in fighting between Hamas and Fatah since Abbas called last month for early presidential and parliamentary elections in the absence of an agreement on formation of a unity government.

In continuing tensions, an explosion ripped through the office of Al Arabiya television in Gaza City on Monday, causing no injuries.

The newsroom was empty when an explosive device placed outside detonated, police said, destroying the outside door of the office of the Dubai-based Arabic satellite television station and damaging some walls inside.

An official at the station said anonymous callers last week threatened to harm employees and burn the Arabiya office following a tape the station aired of Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas.

Hamas had said Haniyeh's comments were broadcast in a way that took his words out of context and vowed to pursue legal action against the station if it did not apologize to him.

Hamas and the Fatah-linked al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades condemned the attack on the station, carried out a day after Abbas and Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal held inconclusive unity talks in Damascus.