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Posted on 12/28/2005 10:19:54 AM PST by ScaniaBoy
Three British citizens were kidnapped as they entered the Gaza Strip from Egypt through the Rafah crossing on Wednesday, Palestinian witnesses and security officials said.
The hostages were thought to be a man, woman and child, according to reports. Security officials in Gaza said the woman was a human rights worker in the area, but gave no further details.
According to a Channel 2 report the woman's name is Kate Barton.
Witnesses said the three were driving in a car which was stopped at gunpoint as they crossed into Gaza from Eygpt and were then ordered to get into the gunmen's vehicle.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility. Palestinian security spokesman Adnan Barbach confirmed that all three were British citizens.
Frank McGinley, a duty officer with the British consulate general in Jerusalem, said his country was investigating the report but had no further comment.
Is it a war zone or not? Seems like it is.
Lay with dogs, get fleas.
Owl_Eagle(If what I just wrote makes you sad or angry,
Slightly different facts in the Daily Telegraph:
Britons kidnapped in Gaza Strip
(Filed: 28/12/2005)
Three Britons have been kidnapped as they entered the Gaza Strip from Egypt, the Foreign Office has confirmed.
A 25-year-old woman is understood to have been showing her mother and father around the town of Rafah when they were abducted.
Reports suggest the young woman was working for a humanitarian organisation.
The Foreign Office confirmed that there had been a kidnapping but their identities and the details of the abduction remain unclear.
"We are in a position to confirm reports of three Britons missing in the Occupied Territories," a spokesman said. "At this stage we have no further details."
Palestinian witnesses and security officials said the three British citizens were kidnapped at the southern Rafah crossing, which the Palestinians recently gained partial control of after striking a deal with Israel.
The Britons were said to have been bundled into a white Mercedes by the kidnappers and security officers were searching the area.
It was reported that the woman worked at the Al Mezan Centre for Human Rights.
The incident was the latest in a series of abductions in Gaza that has undermined Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas's attempts to establish order in the coastal strip following Israel's withdrawal this summer.
> Is it a war zone or not? Seems like it is.
Theoretically, no, but ...
The various factions of the Cutthroat Cult there are
close to open civil war.
Israel is getting fed up with rocket, mortar, RPG and
small arms attacks, and has just declared a boundary
area between it and Gaza effectively a free-fire zone.
Any tourists to Gaza are volunteer hostages, and it's
too early to rule out that this may have been deliberate.
She should have done a Rachel Corrie! That would have "taught them" and made a "humanitarian" point at the same time!
A young woman working for a humanitarian organization was showing her parents around?
Oh, well, potential Darwin Award in the making.
I'm not saying this as a joke, I'd sincerely like clarification on this:
three Britons missing in the Occupied Territories
I thought when Israel abandoned (or whatever you want to call it) the settlements in Gaza, that it represented a total withdrawal. Why are they being called Occupied Territories?
Owl_Eagle(If what I just wrote makes you sad or angry,
ML/NJ
Because the Foreign Office just like the Foggy Bottom is full of bigoted anti-Israelis (and then I'm being kind).
Well spotted by the way!
Thanks for the clarification. I knew I'd either missed something major or picked up on some anti-Israel bias.
ML/NJ, check out post 10
Owl_Eagle(If what I just wrote makes you sad or angry,
Is MoveOn calling for the removal of all British forces from Gaza?
Articles on Israel can also be found by clicking the keyword Israel.
..................
Apparently no child involved per this BBC report ...
Three Britons kidnapped in Gaza
A British aid worker and her parents have been kidnapped by gunmen as they entered Gaza from Egypt at the southern Rafah crossing, Palestinian police say.
The woman is reported to be Scot Kate Burton, 24, from a Gaza-based human rights group called Al Mezan, but her name has not been officially confirmed.
A spokesman for the group said it was working with local police and politicians for their release.
Last week, two foreign teachers were abducted by gunmen and freed unharmed.
In the past, foreign hostages have been seized by militant groups to press the Palestinian authorities for money, jobs or the release of prisoners.
It is not known who is behind this latest abduction, or what they may want.
Border crossing
The Palestinian police commander in Rafah told the BBC that the Britons were kidnapped at about 1600 (1400 GMT).
He said the three were travelling in a car 200m away from the border crossing when they were approached by gunmen in another vehicle.
The gunmen forced them to leave their car and go with them.
Up to now we don't have any clear information about what's going on
Al Mezan Centre spokesman
But the BBC's correspondent in Jerusalem, Jo Floto, says that a local human rights group in Gaza said that one of their female volunteers from Britain had lost contact with their office this afternoon.
Nafiz al Mahdoun, from the Al Mezan Centre for Human Rights, told BBC News 24 the missing volunteer worked for the group for the past three months but had been on holiday since 22 December.
"Her parents were visiting her. She was trying to take them around to show them the area," he said.
"So (we) are now trying to make our communication with our police and all the political parties, all the concerned people, so we could release her.
"Up to now we don't have any clear information about what's going on.
"We are trying to call her on her mobile but it's closed."
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/middle_east/4564586.stm
Published: 2005/12/28 18:39:06 GMT
© BBC MMV
Jau.
Schuld eigene.
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Good point! Passed me by for sure.
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