(Add witnesses, gunman comments) By Atef Sa'ad NABLUS, West Bank, Jan 23 (Reuters) - 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 al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, part of President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah faction, 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. "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 was 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 militant group 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. Hamas won power after beating the once-dominant Fatah in January 2006 elections. (Additional reporting by Francois Murphy in Paris)
