GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) – A British aid worker and her parents were released from captivity and brought to Israel early early today, days after Palestinian gunmen seized the family in the southern Gaza Strip, officials said.

Kate Burton, 25, a worker with the Al-Mezan human rights group in Gaza, was seized at gunpoint Wednesday with her parents, Hugh and Helen, in the southern town of Rafah. The parents had come to Gaza on vacation to visit their daughter, officials said.

The kidnapping was the latest in a string of abductions of foreigners in recent months that have underlined the inability of Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas to impose order in the coastal strip since Israel’s withdrawal in September. The growing unrest threatens to weaken Abbas ahead of parliamentary elections next month.

After a frantic two-day search for the hostages, Palestinian security forces managed to win their release late Friday night, said Palestinian mediator Kamal Sharafi.

British diplomats whisked the family out of Gaza Strip, arriving in Israel early Saturday.

A Palestinian security car early Saturday dropped Hugh Burton off in front of an upscale hotel, where British diplomats quickly put him into a diplomatic vehicle and sped away toward Israel. Burton did not speak to reporters, and the mother and daughter were being taken to Israel separately.

A previously unknown group calling itself the Mujahedeen Brigades Jerusalem Branch claimed responsibility for the kidnappings and threatened to abduct more foreigners if Israel doesn’t end its “no-go” zone in the northern Gaza Strip.

The group issued a statement saying it released the hostages as a “goodwill gesture” after receiving assurances that Britain and the European Union would seek an end to the Israeli buffer zone.

“In case this doesn’t happen, the next time we will act differently and the international observers for the next Palestinian elections will be our target,” said the statement. The Palestinians are set to hold parliamentary elections on Jan. 25, and European and American monitors are expected to observe.

Israel began imposing the off-limits area in northern Gaza this week to prevent rocket fire from the area. It has threatened to shoot anyone entering the buffer zone, located along Gaza’s border with Israel.

British diplomats said there had been no contact with the kidnappers and denied a deal had been struck.

In previous abductions, the kidnappers have sought jobs in the Palestinian security forces, the release of imprisoned relatives or other personal favors. In all cases, the victims have been released safely. It was unclear whether the Burtons’ kidnappers had made similar demands.

Abbas’ critics have accused him of giving in to kidnappers’ demands, thereby encouraging more abductions.

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