Palestinian journalists in Gaza protested on Saturday against the kidnapping of a Fox News correspondent and cameraman, as concern about the men’s safety grew.
Cameraman Olaf Wiig, 36, of New Zealand, and American correspondent Steve Centanni, 60, were snatched Monday from their TV van near the Palestinian security services headquarters in Gaza City.
More than two dozen foreigners have been abducted by Palestinian gunmen, usually in an attempt to settle personal scores, but almost all have been released within hours. This is the longest that foreigners have been held. Security officials are especially concerned because all the armed groups have denied involvement and no demands have been put forth.
About 30 members of the Palestinian Journalists’ Union gathered outside the parliamentary building in Gaza, holding up signs demanding the men be freed. Other signs called for security in Gaza, where armed men wander the streets freely.
Jennifer Griffen, chief Fox News correspondent for the Middle East, called the kidnapping a “test for the Palestinian people.”
“We don’t care who kidnapped them, we want them returned unharmed. This is a very serious case for the Palestinians, for the Palestinian Authority,” Griffen said.
Khaled Batch, a leader of the Islamic Jihad militant group, said kidnapping members of the media “silenced the voice of freedom and justice.”
“We … have experienced oppression and denial. We don’t want to practice this pain and suffering on others, on other wives and people,” Batch said.