On Wednesday 29.
5.
2001 at around one in the afternoon in Rafah town, two journalists working for Newsweek, one American and the other British, were abducted by a group calling themselves the Fatah Hawks.
  In a press release it announced that the Fatah Hawks declare themselves responsible for the abduction which lasted six hours.
They emphasized that the journalists would be treated well.
At the same time the press release stressed that the abduction is a statement directed at the United States and the United Kingdom complaining about the position of the two governments and their support of Israel, particularly referring to the use of the veto in the UN Security Council by the USA and the Balfour Declaration.
Al Mezan Center for Human Rights considers activities of this kind to be extremely dangerous and considers it a dangerous precedent to target journalists despite the intentions and justification of the abduction.
Journalists must enjoy special protection, particularly those that work in the occupied territories.
Al Mezan Center would like to assert the following: That journalists, whatever their nationality, not only be relieved from any such targeting, but that their work be facilitated to enable them to uncover the crimes perpetrated by the Israelis in the occupied territories.
Despite the fact that Palestinians suffer from unprecedented and systematic violations of their rights which constitute war crimes whatever is the reaction the rights of journalists must be respected as civilians whatever the circumstances.
This event despite its danger must remain a single act and must not be compared with the systematic violations of the rights of the journalists perpetrated by the occupation forces which has targeted them firing on them and arresting them and destroying their private properties, which has killed one and wounded tens of them.
END