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Gunman reads demands for Kate's release; she said room service was excellent and the kidnappers brought them everything they asked for. (AP)
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| By Israel Insider staff and partners December 31, 2005 |
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A British human rights activist released by Gaza kidnappers said Saturday she'll stay in the region despite threats by militants to seize more foreigners, as Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas warned the growing lawlessness is hurting economic development and statehood aspirations.
Abbas also said the chaos would not derail parliament elections set for Jan. 25.
However, the Palestinian leader has been unable to impose order, particularly in Gaza where dozens of armed groups affiliated with his Fatah Party have seized hostages, stormed public buildings and attacked police stations in recent months -- either to press demands for government jobs or to settle personal feuds.
In one incident Saturday, gunmen demanding jobs briefly seized a government building in the central Gaza town of Deir el Balah. Another group of armed men, including off-duty police, set up an impromptu roadblock near the Gaza-Egypt border, threatening to prevent VIPs from crossing, as part of a fight between police and a local clan.
British aid worker Kate Burton, 25, and her parents Hugh and Helen, were freed in Gaza late Friday and driven to Jerusalem in armored cars. In a statement issued Saturday, the Burtons said they were treated "extremely well" throughout their two-day ordeal. They asked to be "left in peace to recover with close friends and relatives."
The family entered Israel and arrived at the British Consulate in Jerusalem, later issuing a statement saying that "we are glad that these last few days are over and we would like to express our gratitude to the Palestinian Authority, the British Government and all groups and individuals in Gaza and worldwide who have been supporting us and working around the clock to secure our release."
"The incident was just one in the context of a severely increasing state of insecurity in the Gaza Strip, and Kate remains committed and passionate about working alongside the Palestinians to improve their external image and alleviate the difficult conditions being suffered by the Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip," the statement added.
Hugh and Helen Burton were to leave for Europe over the weekend, British officials said.
Kate Burton said she "plans to stay in the region and continue working with the Palestinian people." She is expected to return to Gaza within several days to resume her work at the human rights group Al-Mezan, said the head of the group, Kamal Sharafi.
She added that she could not say a bad word about her captors, who always asked whether they needed anything.
She said that her parents were "tired" and spoke of her sadness that her parents had had such a "desperate experience" during their visit to Gaza.
The Burtons' abduction was the latest in a rash of kidnappings of foreigners by Palestinian gunmen.
Palestinian security officials said the Burtons were abducted by gunmen with ties to Fatah. The kidnappers said they belonged to a previously unknown group, the Mujahedeen Brigades Jerusalem Branch. The group threatened more abductions of foreigners if Israel doesn't abolish its "no-go" zone in the northern Gaza Strip. Israel imposed the off-limits area this week to prevent rocket fire, and has threatened to shoot anyone entering the zone.
The kidnappers said they released the hostages after receiving assurances that Britain and the European Union would seek an end to the Israeli buffer zone. British officials denied that a deal had been struck.
The kidnappers said they would seize international election observers if their demands were not met. Mathias Eick, a spokesman for the observers, said Saturday the group did not plan to change its deployment ahead of the parliament election, but would keep assessing the risk.
The AP contributed to this report.
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