Posted on 08/17/2005 12:15:50 PM PDT by SJackson
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.
Shortly thereafter to be followed by the dreaded "letter of deep concern", no doubt.
Had to throw that in. Saw it used by a fellow FReeper and nearly blew out my monitor with coffee.
As long as they are killing Israelis, French aid will continue.
they will then send a letter telling them how disappointed they are that the first letter was ignored.
A French threat? Isn't that like a Michael Moore diet?
Do they mean to say that there actually IS a point at which they will stop supporting terrorism? Wow. I was sure that it was unconditional. I guess I was wrong.
Kill Jews at will- will give you aid.
Kidnap a French journalist- you've gone too far.
..................
Suddenly the French are talking tougher than America. I presume the killers of the three American diplomats last year are covered by Abu Mazen's unilateral declaration of amnesty for terrorists.
U.S. Announces a $5 Million Reward for Gaza Terrorists [who killed 3 Americans]
Burns: PA's Gaza bombing probe not showing results (Americans killed--Palestinians are fine with it)
Don't you just hate it when the criminals start behaving like...err..well.... criminals?!?!??!
Does Palestine have a healthy white flag industry? That could be the key...
These are the guys who are still paying off the Barbary pirates.
It's easy to see why. France, along with several other European countries, has bent over backwards to accomodate the demands of terrorists. Predictably, the terrorists do nothing but take advantage of this display of weakness. I can readily imagine how "disturbing" an appeaser would find this.
- ThreeTracks
At first glance Pennsylvanians may take umbrage at that headline.
French posturing to cover French bribing!
Don't WE give money to the PA?
That damn Ed Rendell... ever since he's been PA governor he's been antagonizing the French.
Now this threat will strike terror into the hearts of terrorists. NOT!!!!!
You know I thought that when I read the headline.
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