Militants beat up Jenin governor Militants in the West Bank town of Jenin abducted the Palestinian governor and held him captive for several hours.
Haider Irsheid was pulled from his vehicle and beaten before being driven off by members of the al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigade.
The group accused him of collaborating with Israel.
Mr Irsheid was released after the militants received an order from Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.
"We released him because we received instructions from the president to do so. We do not question the president's instructions," Zakariya Zubeidi, leader of the local branch of Al-Aqsa, told Reuters.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3079931.stm