Abu Dhabi television reported that its Gaza bureau chief was kidnapped by Hamas, though spokesmen for the terrorist group denied the charge. Abdel-Salam Abu Askar reportedly telephoned his office to say he had been stopped at a checkpoint set up by a Hamas militia Friday, Reuters reported. A colleague at the bureau said contact with Askar was then lost, and witnesses reported seeing him being taken away in a Hamas jeep. Aksar would not be the first Gaza journalist to go missing. The BBC’s Gaza correspondent, Alan Johnston, disappeared in March. The Army of Islam, a little-known group, claimed responsibility for abducting him.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
