Report: American youth kidnapped in Nablus

[The face of Jacob]

Ansar A-Sunna group, know to be operating in Iraq, sends fax to Reuters news agency saying it kidnapped American youth in Nablus

Ali Waked Published: 10.11.06, 15:37

Palestinian security officials are verifying claims made by an extremist Islamic group that it kidnapped an American youth in the West Bank city of Nablus, officials said Wednesday.

A fax sent to the Reuters news agency by Ansar A-Sunna, a group affiliated with al-Qaeda in Iraq, shows a copy of an American citizens' passport and a copy of his entry visa to Israel.

Palestinian security officials said all terror groups contacted over the claim denied involvement.

Rabi'a Abu Layl, a senior activist with the al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, told Ynet: "Not only we have no contact with them, but we condemn
the incident. If this youth was kidnapped in Nablus itself, then the issue is serious since foreign teenagers staying here despite the situation are usually volunteers who come to help us on humanitarian missions."

Abu-Layl added: "This is the first time we hear of this group appearing in Nablus. I believe the statement is not reliable; no Palestinian group would harm international activists, who not only support us, but live among us like Palestinians. We eat with them, drink with them and work with them. It is impossible that a real Palestinian group stands behind the incident."

The Israel Defense Forces confirmed that it received a report that a foreign citizen had been kidnapped but said it remains unclear if he is American or British.

Four months ago Benjamin Bright-Fishbein, a Jewish student of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem studying in an exchange program, was kidnapped in Nablus.

Palestinian groups released a tape showing a youth wearing a kippa saying his kidnappers would kill him if Israel doesn't release Palestinian prisoners.

Few hours after his disappearance he was handed over to the Palestinian security forces and was later released.

Efrat Weiss contributed to this report

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3313774,00.html

 

[The face of Jacob]

Al-Aqsa: We freed kidnapped US youth

Dozens of armed gunmen from al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades storm Nablus apartment where terror group holds kidnapped US citizen Michael Leighton Phillips; American youth freed, taken to home of PLO Executive Committee member

Ali Waked Latest Update: 10.12.06, 00:54

Michael Leighton Phillips Photo: AP:

Dozens of armed gunmen from the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades stormed the Nablus apartment where kidnapped US citizen Michael Leighton Phillips was being held and freed the American youth.

A senior al-Aqsa member who took part in the operation told Ynet that Phillips was found tied up in the apartment; according to him, one of the kidnappers agreed to disclose the location of the apartment in return for a guarantee that he would not be harmed. The al-Aqsa member added that the kidnappers’ trail leads to Gaza and that they acted on behalf of a known terror group; he refused to name the organization.

However, Palestinian Legislative Council member Jamal Tirawi, who oversaw the efforts to release Phillips, blamed elements in Gaza for the kidnapping, particularly the Popular Resistance Committees. According to Tirawi, the incident was part of the security-related anarchy organized by Interior Minister Said Siam.

Tirawi said President Mahmoud Abbas apologized to the American youth, adding that the affair tainted the Palestinian nation’s image.

“The kidnappers acted in the name of an irresponsible group in Gaza, but we will not let Palestine turn into Iraq or Afghanistan,” he said.

Phillips was initially taken to the home of a PLO Executive Committee member’s home, where he was surrounded by dozens of media crews.

He spoke to Ynet immediately after his release and said he want disappointed in the Palestinian people, “even though I can’t exactly say that they treated me kindly.”

According to Phillips, he was held by his captors for 48 hours. “I don’t know who the kidnappers where or what they wanted, but I know who put me in the taxi that I was kidnapped from,” he said.

He refused to describe how the kidnappers treated him, and only said: “I can’t say they treated my politely or kindly.”

Earlier, the Ansar A-Sunna Palestinian terror group said it had kidnapped an American youth in Nablus and demanded the release of Palestinian prisoners held in Israel in exchange for his release. The group is well known as being active in Iraq and identifies with al-Qaeda.

In the afternoon hours, the kidnappers gathered a press conference to announce their demands: The release of women, children, elderly and infirm being held in Israeli prisons, and a halt to air force strikes on Palestinian areas.

A blurred photocopy of a passport and student card carrying the American youth’s name was sent to the Reuters news agency.

Locals slam kidnapping as 'unpatriotic'


Samah Atout, manager of Project Hope, said Phillips was working in refugee camps near the West Bank city of Nablus, teaching English. Palestinian residents of Nablus told Ynet that Phillips had been working for an UNRWA school in the Askar refugee camp for the past four months on a fully volunteer basis.

"He loved the work, the students and the whole of the Palestinian people, and would bring gifts to his students because he felt their poverty,” a Nablus resident told Ynet. He defined the kidnapping as anti-national, unpatriotic and damaging to Palestinian interests.

Ala Sanqara and Rabia Abu Leil, chiefs in the al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades who liberated Phillips, said that as soon as they learned of the kidnapping, al-Aqsa operatives searched all the places where gunmen affiliated with the organization hung out.

From their perspective, they explained, freeing the captive became a national mission intended to prevent the sullying of the Palestinian image in the eyes of the international community.

In an earlier conversation with Ynet, Abu Leil said al-Aqsa was in no way connected with the kidnapping. “Not only are we not connected, but we severely condemn the whole business. If this youth was kidnapped in Nablus itself, then this is very since the foreign youths that are here despite the circumstances are generally volunteers who come to help us by teaching and humanitarian aid.”

First Published: 10.11.06, 23:47

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3313974,00.html