Israel is making strenuous efforts to release an Israeli Druze journalist abducted in the Gaza Strip. Riyad ‘Ali, an assistant producer and a translator for CNN, was kidnapped on Sunday evening when armed men approached a vehicle with ‘Ali and some co-workers in it and asked for Riyad. ‘Ali identified himself and was asked to leave the car.
An emergency meeting was held on Sunday night between the Palestinian police and representatives of the Palestinian press in order to examine ways to trace the kidnappers. Palestinian security forces are hunting for them in Gaza, so far with no results.
The Israel Defense Forces has since barred foreign journalists and Israelis from entering Gaza.
Israeli officials have been warning foreign journalists for several months of the danger of being in Gaza and of specific intelligence information indicating that terrorists want to kidnap journalists. Former New York Times bureau chief James Bennett narrowly escaped an abduction when gunmen tried to push him into a waiting car several months ago.
Israel’s Foreign Press Association called on its members to “exercise maximum vigilance while reporting from hostile environments.”
The identity of the kidnappers is still unclear. The Palestinian terror organization Hamas said in a proclamation that journalists “play an important role and help Palestinians realize their goals.” Other terror groups have denied involvement in the abduction, suggesting this may be the work of a new terror cell.
The motive for the abduction is also vague. ‘Ali was singled out by his abductors, leading some to believe that the motive behind the abduction is personal rather than nationalistic or criminal.
The Palestinian media is calling on the public to be vigilant and inform the police and the security forces of any information that can shed light on ‘Ali’s location.
Head of the Palestinian Journalists Union Tawfiq Abu Khou’sa told the Israeli news portal Ynet the abduction is a “very dangerous precedent” which poses a threat to freedom of press in Gaza. He said ‘Ali is “an Arab journalist” and that this incident harms the Palestinian interest.
Khou’sa said this could have been carried out by collaborators with Israel. He expressed fear that Israel may escalate its operations in the Gaza Strip while there will be no journalists to cover the incidents.