A security panel headed by Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat declared a state of emergency in the Gaza Strip early today after a wave of kidnappings that included a Palestinian police chief and four French citizens.

Palestinian militants freed the Palestinian chief of police today hours after kidnapping him in an ambush that deepened the sense of chaos ahead of an announced withdrawal from Gaza by Israel.

Palestinian gunmen kidnapped the Palestinian chief of police for the Gaza Strip and the West Bank today, witnesses said.