Palestinian police today threatened to use force to win the release of three British hostages snatched earlier this week by gunmen in Gaza.

Palestinian policemen angry over growing lawlessness in the Gaza Strip stormed the Gaza-Egypt border crossing today, scaring off European monitors who fled the area and forcing the border to close.

A PALESTINIAN suicide bomber trying to enter Israel blew himself up yesterday at a military checkpoint set up to foil attackers, killing an Israeli soldier and two other Palestinians.

Palestinian security forces set up roadblocks throughout the southern Gaza Strip today as they stepped up a search for three British citizens abducted by Palestinian gunmen, the latest in a wave of kidnappings of foreigners in the chaotic area.

Palestinian security forces were today negotiating with gunmen who kidnapped a British human rights worker and her parents, a security official said, the latest in a wave of kidnappings of foreigners in the chaotic Gaza Strip.

Palestinian security forces are negotiating with the gunmen who kidnapped a British woman and her parents as they entered the Gaza Strip from Egypt, a security official said today.

Smelly socks worn by Ed Harris during the filming of Empire Falls were among the treasures snatched up by fans during a weekend sale of props and costumes from the HBO movie.