08 15 Three gunmen kidnap France TV journalist in Gaza
"Three gunmen kidnap France TV journalist in Gaza
By Reuters
Three gunmen kidnap France TV journalist in Gaza
By Reuters
Palestinian gunmen abducted a French television journalist yesterday, his TV crew said, the latest in a string of kidnappings of foreigners in the Gaza Strip.
Mohammed Ouathi, a soundman for France 3 Television, was walking back to his hotel in Gaza City with his television crew when three armed men threatened him, pulled him into their vehicle and drove away.
Advertisement
No group immediately claimed responsibility for the abduction of Ouathi, a French citizen of Algerian origin.
"We tried to intervene, to resist, but they threatened us very aggressively and dragged off Mohammed," Gwenaelle Lenoir, one of the crew members, told France 3.
News of the kidnapping spread concern among dozens of foreign journalists covering Israel's disengagement from Gaza.
Unlike previous abductions of journalists in Gaza, Ouathi was not freed hours after the kidnapping.
France demanded his immediate release.
"This isn't the first time we've had people abducted in Gaza, but in general they are released pretty quickly," said Sylvain Lequesne, a staff representative.
Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas condemned the incident, saying: "We will not allow these chaotic actions. The kidnappers will get the maximum punishment, and we will not allow such chaos to continue."
Forces were deployed near the hotel where the television crew was staying to search for the kidnappers.
Gaza gunmen abducted five foreign UN workers this month in two separate incidents but freed them hours later. Last year, Palestinian militants kidnapped an Israeli Arab CNN television producer in Gaza and held him for a day.
J post.
08 17 05 France threatens to stop aid to PA
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Khaled Abu Toameh, THE JERUSALEM POST Aug. 17, 2005
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
France has threatened to halt financial and humanitarian aid to the Palestinian Authority unless a French journalist who was kidnapped in Gaza City earlier this week is freed unharmed.
PA officials said the threat was delivered to the PA on behalf of French President Jacques Chirac, who is "extremely disturbed" by the abduction.
In a related development, three Palestinian journalists were attacked on Monday night by unidentified assailants north of Khan Yunis.
According to the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate, the three suffered moderate stab wounds. It identified the three as Shams Odeh and his brother, Muhammad, who work for Reuters, and Fayez Abu Halaweh, a TV technician from east Jerusalem.
Unidentified gunmen on Sunday night kidnapped the French journalist who was in the Gaza Strip to cover the disengagement, prompting some foreign TV crews to leave the area out of fear for their lives.
Some 900 foreign journalists are in Gaza City to cover Palestinian preparations for the disengagement.
The journalist was identified as Muhammad Ouathi, an Algerian Muslim with French citizenship who was working as a soundman for French Television Channel III.
More than 80 non-governmental organizations on Tuesday called for the immediate release of Ouathi. They also urged the PA to arrest the kidnappers and bring them to trial.
By Reuters
Three gunmen kidnap France TV journalist in Gaza
By Reuters
Palestinian gunmen abducted a French television journalist yesterday, his TV crew said, the latest in a string of kidnappings of foreigners in the Gaza Strip.
Mohammed Ouathi, a soundman for France 3 Television, was walking back to his hotel in Gaza City with his television crew when three armed men threatened him, pulled him into their vehicle and drove away.
Advertisement
No group immediately claimed responsibility for the abduction of Ouathi, a French citizen of Algerian origin.
"We tried to intervene, to resist, but they threatened us very aggressively and dragged off Mohammed," Gwenaelle Lenoir, one of the crew members, told France 3.
News of the kidnapping spread concern among dozens of foreign journalists covering Israel's disengagement from Gaza.
Unlike previous abductions of journalists in Gaza, Ouathi was not freed hours after the kidnapping.
France demanded his immediate release.
"This isn't the first time we've had people abducted in Gaza, but in general they are released pretty quickly," said Sylvain Lequesne, a staff representative.
Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas condemned the incident, saying: "We will not allow these chaotic actions. The kidnappers will get the maximum punishment, and we will not allow such chaos to continue."
Forces were deployed near the hotel where the television crew was staying to search for the kidnappers.
Gaza gunmen abducted five foreign UN workers this month in two separate incidents but freed them hours later. Last year, Palestinian militants kidnapped an Israeli Arab CNN television producer in Gaza and held him for a day.
J post.
08 17 05 France threatens to stop aid to PA
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Khaled Abu Toameh, THE JERUSALEM POST Aug. 17, 2005
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
France has threatened to halt financial and humanitarian aid to the Palestinian Authority unless a French journalist who was kidnapped in Gaza City earlier this week is freed unharmed.
PA officials said the threat was delivered to the PA on behalf of French President Jacques Chirac, who is "extremely disturbed" by the abduction.
In a related development, three Palestinian journalists were attacked on Monday night by unidentified assailants north of Khan Yunis.
According to the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate, the three suffered moderate stab wounds. It identified the three as Shams Odeh and his brother, Muhammad, who work for Reuters, and Fayez Abu Halaweh, a TV technician from east Jerusalem.
Unidentified gunmen on Sunday night kidnapped the French journalist who was in the Gaza Strip to cover the disengagement, prompting some foreign TV crews to leave the area out of fear for their lives.
Some 900 foreign journalists are in Gaza City to cover Palestinian preparations for the disengagement.
The journalist was identified as Muhammad Ouathi, an Algerian Muslim with French citizenship who was working as a soundman for French Television Channel III.
More than 80 non-governmental organizations on Tuesday called for the immediate release of Ouathi. They also urged the PA to arrest the kidnappers and bring them to trial.
posted by solitarioh2005 at
3:45 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home