PALESTINIAN FREEDOM OF THE PRESS

Gunmen kidnap Palestinian journalist (JPost)
A prominent Palestinian journalist from the Gaza Strip was kidnapped on Monday from his radio station by a group of masked gunmen, who released him after several hours unharmed. Eyewitnesses said at least 15 gunmen stormed the offices of the local Sawt Al-Hurriya (Voice of Freedom) radio station on the 13th floor of the Al-Shurouk Tower in the center of Gaza City and forced the journalist, Salim Abu Amr, to accompany them to an unknown destination.

Abu Amr, who is known to his listeners as Abu Basel, is the host of a popular talk show that is broadcast every morning in the Gaza Strip. Sources in Gaza City described him as a Fatah supporter and a staunch critic of Hamas. "The gunmen threatened him with their rifles and led him away," said one eyewitness. They took him in a van that was waiting outside the building. They did not give any reason for the kidnapping."

No group claimed responsibility for the kidnapping. However, Fatah officials said they did not rule out the possibility that Hamas was behind the kidnapping, noting that Abu Amr had been critical of the Hamas-led government and had also allowed listeners to voice their criticism of the Islamic movement.

Palestinian Authority policemen rushed to the scene and erected checkpoints in Gaza City in an attempt to apprehend the kidnappers.

The Palestinian Journalists Syndicate strongly condemned the kidnapping of Abu Amr, saying it was the latest in a series of assaults on Palestinian journalists and media outlets in the Palestinian territories.