Bethlehem, 15 August: The Palestinian Journalists' Syndicate has appealed to President Mahmud Abbas to intervene to secure the release of foreign journalists abducted by unknown gunmen on Monday] in the Gaza Strip.

The syndicate said in a letter written to Abbas by chairman of the syndicate, Na'im al-Tubasi: "The kidnap of the journalists is a cowardly act and harms the reputation of the Palestinian people and their cause to the world, especially among the major international media agencies. The Palestinian people are in dire need of these journalists who are their friends in this world."

The letter went on to say, "this armed chaos is carried out by those who want to sabotage everything. There must be an end to it. The law must prevail instead of the law of the jungle."

In an interview with Ma'an, Al-Tubasi called for the release of the kidnapped Fox News journalist and cameraman.

Al-Tubasi said: "The kidnap is a criminal act against the media and journalists and this act has directly hurt the Palestinian people and strikes at the heart of the values of Palestine." Al-Tubasi appealed to those responsible for the kidnapping to preserve the life of the kidnapped journalists and to release them immediately. He called on Palestinian official authorities to begin an immediate investigation to identify the perpetrators and bring them to trial.

Al-Tubasi said that the chaos and the law of the jungle that some parties are following will not succeed as a substitute for the law. He called on all Palestinian journalists and foreign mass media personnel working in Palestine to take care and exercise caution during the unnatural circumstances that the region lives in.

The Journalists' Syndicate denounced the kidnap of the journalists, describing it as "irresponsible." The syndicate said it viewed it as a kidnapping of Palestinian values and an act that is harmful to the Palestinian cause and the Palestinian people and their struggle for freedom.

The syndicate stressed the need to allow the media and journalists to work free from all political positions and not to penalize them for their views.

Unidentified men in Gaza kidnapped two journalists, reporter Steve Centanni, a US citizen, and cameraman Olaf Wiig, from New Zealand, both working for the American network, Fox News, on Monday evening.

Source: Ma'an News Agency website, Bethlehem, in English 1119 gmt 15 Aug 06

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