The British family held hostage for three days after being kidnapped in Gaza were freed on Friday night after 18 hours of secret negotiations. Following their release, shortly after 8pm, a previously unknown faction calling itself Brigades of the Mujahideen — Jerusalem, said they were responsible for the seizure of Kate Burton (24) her father Hugh (73) and mother Helen (55).
In a video released to media, a masked gunman read out a message standing next to Ms Burton, who appeared with her hands behind her back. ”We have decided to pardon the three Britons as a gesture of goodwill in return for a seriousness in answering our demands,” the gunman said.
According to reports, the family were driven by their captors from Khan Yunis and passed on to the Palestinian police while British and Palestinian officials waited for them outside their Gaza hotel. Later the three were being taken to Jerusalem in the care of British officials.
The family was kidnapped on Wednesday in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip. British consular officials said they believed that the family had come to no harm but were anxious that Mr and Mrs Burton should have a medical examination as soon as possible.
Security officials believe the kidnapping was meant to be a veiled warning to the Palestinian Authority by Palestinian gunmen. In the video, the gunman attacked Britain for its historical involvement in the region. The gunman went on to threaten foreign officials at work in Gaza if the international community did not rein in Israeli military activity. Israel is regularly shelling the north of the Gaza Strip to suppress the firing of rockets from Gaza into Israel. Dozens of explosions were again heard in Gaza City on Friday night.
With large numbers of international observers expected to arrive in Gaza in the coming weeks to monitor the Palestinian elections on January 25, the gunmen’s threat may prevent their deployment damaging the integrity of the election process.
The Gaza Strip has been plagued by small groups taking the law into their own hands for economic or political advantage. The PA, which has large but inefficient security services, has appeared unable to react to the challenge of taking over complete control of the Gaza Strip since the departure of Israeli soldiers and settlers in September.
The Burton family were on a tour of Gaza where Ms Burton has worked for the past year. Her parents, who are British but live in Brussels, were visiting their daughter for Christmas and had spent Christmas Day in the Jerusalem area. On Wednesday, the family went on a trip through the historic and political sites of Gaza.
They were abducted by three masked and armed men as they left the Rafah border terminal in the southern Gaza Strip. They were taken from their car, which they shared with a driver and a guide, and driven away.
A friend contacted Ms Burton by cellphone shortly after the abduction and she told him that they had been kidnapped but not harmed. The kidnapping of foreigners in Gaza is a relatively common occurrence but the victims are normally freed within hours. The kidnappers have almost always demanded jobs or favours from the Palestinian Authority and treated their captives with apologetic kindness. The kidnappers contacted the Palestinian authorities early on Friday morning to arrange the release of their captives.
Their release follows a chorus of demands for their freedom from family, humanitarian workers in the region, Palestinian political figures and even a rare public appeal from the militant group al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigade. – Guardian Unlimited Â