The Conundrum, Part 8

Israel says that it will continue overflights of Lebanon until UN SCR 1701 is fully implemented. Israel might be doing this for quite a while, as it's clear that the UN is incapable and unwilling of enforcing the terms of UN SCR 1701 including the disarmament of Hizbullah.

There's still another sign that the Palestinians don't particularly care for freedom of the press: gunmen have kidnapped yet another journalist in the territories.

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.

Count on this being used to intimidate and affect the reporting in the territories, but another aspect of this kidnapping is that it could be used to generate more revenue for the terror groups and thugs running things in Gaza.

While Hamas continues to be a part of the Palestinian government and refuses to recognize Israel, no foreign aid from the US or Europe should be forthcoming, but the EU is providing aid nonetheless on humanitarian grounds.

Abbas and Haniyeh continue to play cat and mouse yet again over whether they can form a government, and right now Haniyeh continues to hold the cards - not to mention Gilad Shalit.

Investigators looking at the assassination of Rafik Harari have run a number of tests and concluded that Harari was killed by a suicide bomber and the 1,800kg bomb was in a minivan and detonated by a man either just in front of the van or sitting inside the van.

UPDATE:
The journalist was released a few hours after he was taken, but the offices were ransacked. This latest attack against journalists in Gaza comes on the heels of similar attacks on newspapers last week.

Technorati: terrorism, fatah, Gilad, Shalit, Olmert, Eliyahu, Asheri, Ashri, Abbas, Regev, Goldwasser, PRC, Hamas, Gaza, palestinian, Israel, hizbullah, hezbullah, hezbollah, lebanon, syria.