VARIOUS: Wife of kidnapped Fox journalist appeals for safe release and meets with Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh.

The wife of kidnapped Fox journalist Olaf Wiig on Thursday (August 24) appealed for his safe release along with correspondent Steve Centanni. Anita Mcnaught met Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh to discuss the kidnapping of the two men on Monday (August 14) by a previously unknown group, the "Holy Jihad Brigades". Haniyeh condemned the kidnapping saying it contradicts the values of the Palestinian people. "In this meeting we express our condemnation of this approach, the approach of kidnapping in the Palestinian arena. This approach contradicts all the morals and values of the Palestinian people," Haniyeh said. A videotape released by their captors on Wednesday showed Fox News Channel correspondent Steve Centanni, a 60-year-old American, and New Zealand cameraman Olaf Wiig, 36, sitting cross-legged on a blanket on a floor. In the video tape Centanni said he and his fellow captive were in "fairly good health" and were being treated well. After her meeting with Haniyeh Anita McNaught appealed to the kidnappers to treat the two hostages well. 'It was a source of great relief and comfort to me and to Olaf and Steve's family and friends to see that our men are being well looked after by you, the kidnappers, and we trust that you will continue to care for them until they are released," she said. "I do not question that you who are holding them have suffered greatly as everyone in Gaza, in the Palestinian territories is suffering, but these two men are not responsible for the injustices that you speak of, and they should not be punished for them", she added. The "Holy Jihad Brigades", claimed responsibility for the abductions on Wednesday (August 23) and issued a 72-hour deadline for the United States to release Muslim prisoners or face unspecified consequences. Speaking from an Israeli jail, Palestinian prisoner Bassam al-Saadi also called for the journalists' release. "We, the Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails, call upon the kidnappers in Gaza to release the kidnapped journalists, because they are guests of the Palestinian people. Also, this matter contradicts the teachings of religion, values and traditions of the Palestinian people and harms the Palestinian cause." The abduction is now the longest-lasting in Gaza for more than a year.

ITN Source | August 25, 2006

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