GAZA: Palestinian security conduct searches after Spanish photographer is kidnapped in Gaza, Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh condemns abduction

Palestinian gunmen kidnapped a Spanish aid worker in the Gaza Strip on Monday (October 30), a Palestinian security source said. The source identified him as Roberto Villa of the Cooperative Assembly for Peace, a Spanish charity. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the abduction, the latest in a series of such kidnappings in the coastal territory. Following the abduction, Palestinian security forces deployed on the streets of Khan Younis to look for Villa. Previous kidnappings of foreigners also have usually ended after a few hours, or at most a few days, of captivity. Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh, looking stern-faced and angry, said the abductors were harming the cause of all Palestinians through their actions. "This is a pointless action which we reject. We will uncover the identity of the people who are behind the kidnapping, we will track them down and we will not allow them to damage the image of the civilised Palestinian people," Haniyeh said. Last week, Palestinian gunmen kidnapped a Spanish photographer working for the Associated Press in Gaza, keeping him captive more than 12 hours before pressure from Palestinian officials secured his release.

ITN Source | October 31, 2006

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