2 Fox News Journalists Released

Journalists Had Been Held In Captivity For Nearly Two Weeks In Gaza

(CBS/AP)  Two Fox News journalists were released Sunday, nearly two weeks after being seized by militants, ending the longest-running drama involving foreign hostages in the Gaza Strip.

Cameraman Olaf Wiig, 36, and correspondent Steve Centanni, 60, were dropped off at Gaza City's Beach Hotel by Palestinian security officials. A tearful Centanni briefly embraced a Palestinian journalist in the lobby, then rushed upstairs. Wiig walked into the lobby behind Centanni, briefly turned when someone pulled him by the arm and shouted "get off" before heading upstairs.

Centanni later told Fox News in a phone call from Gaza City that during his capture, he was held at times face down in a dark garage, tied up in painful positions, and that he and Wiig were forced at gunpoint to make statements, including that they had converted to Islam.

"I'm a little emotional because this is overwhelming, but I'm fine," Centanni said. "I'm so happy to be freed."

Centanni maintained a sense of humor about the ordeal, at one point noting that he previously did not know the Arabic word for water. "I do now," he said.

During a brief press conference, both Centanni and Wiig expressed hope that journalists would not abandon their attempts to cover events in the Gaza Strip. "Don't be discouraged," Centanni said. "Come and tell the story, it's a wonderful story."

Wiig pleaded to the Palestinian people: "Your story doesn't get very well told because it's difficult to work here. You guys need us on the streets."

The journalists had been seized in Gaza City on Aug. 14 by a previously unknown group calling itself the Holy Jihad Brigades. However, senior Palestinian security officials said Sunday the name was a front for local militants, and that Palestinian authorities had known the identity of the kidnappers from the start.

Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh dismissed speculation that the kidnappers had ties to foreign groups. "The kidnappers have no link to al Qaeda or any other organization or faction," Haniyeh said. "Al Qaeda as an organization does not exist in the Gaza Strip."

The Popular Resistance Committees, a Gaza militant group, claimed Sunday it had helped mediate the release of the journalists.

The Hamas-led Palestinian Authority has insisted it had no clue about the identity of the kidnappers.

However, in recent days, Hamas government officials signaled that the release of the journalists was imminent and that they had won assurances from the kidnappers the hostages were being treated well.

The kidnappers, meanwhile, released new video of Wiig and Centanni Sunday. In a written statement attached to the video, the kidnappers claimed the two men had converted to Islam.

In one segment of the footage, Wiig is seen sitting cross-legged on the floor, dressed in a beige robe and reading from crumpled notes, delivering an anti-Western speech. He also read out an Islamic blessing in Arabic, his fingers following the written text.

"The people of Gaza have suffered for many years in what is effectively a prison camp," he said in a halting voice, his face expressionless. "They have not been free to come and go. Some say this was all started because of 9/11, and of course that wasn't true.

"It is Apache helicopters firing hellfire missiles made in America that kill the residents of Gaza. America and George Bush are seen as being evil in some people's eyes in this part of the world," Wiig said. "It it's time that the leaders of the West listen to the people, take notice of the millions protesting in the streets, stop hiding behind the `I don't negotiate with terrorists' myth."

In another segment, Centanni said he has converted to Islam and raised his index finger in an oath of allegiance to the religion.

Several hours later, the two men were dropped off at Gaza City's Beach Hotel, wearing Western-style clothing. Their captors had demanded the release of all Muslims imprisoned by the U.S. by midnight Saturday in exchange for freeing the journalists. It was not immediately clear whether the kidnappers received anything in return for freeing the journalists.

In the past two years, Palestinian militants have seized more than two dozen foreigners, usually to settle personal scores, but released them unharmed within hours. The holding of the Fox journalists had been the longest.

[old300d]

I am glad they are free. I don't understand the wonderful story they are talking about. It is a wonderful place because it is Israel. What is wonderful about calling Israel Palestine and running all the Jews and Christians out ? It's a sad story.

[ronniehm]

Carly, you're right, but I'm afraid it wouldn't even have to be at gunpoint. Somtimes it just takes a Christmas tree to get some folks worked up.

[ronniehm]

That IS a little absurd alphaa. I realize you support your team to the end, but there are plenty of Bush policies you can question without looking like a kook. No one is trying to be a dictator and drop nuclear weapons in Iraq, OK? Bush believes there's a noble cause to be in Iraq and there are some pretty good arguments to support that. There are also some pretty good arguments against that. Water down the kool aid. You're usually a lot wiser than this.

[carlylaine]

Centanni stated in a different interview that he was forced at gunpoint to convert to ISLAM. He said, "Don't get me wrong here. I have the highest respect for ISLAM." (FoxNews)
HUH?

If a CHRISTIAN group had done that very same thing-all of you would have been screaming for Christian heads to roll.

TO ALPHAA10: You know nothing of the history of the Middle East or of ISRAEL. Read before you spout SPIN and RHETORIC.

[alphaa10-2009]

Madinusa-- Good points, but letting matters boil over in the MidEast isn%u2019t the wisest course. Diplomacy is at a premium right now, but few are qualified leaders, much less diplomats. Some in Washington believe the world desperately needs a dictator to impose peace with tactical nuclear weaponry. As puerile as that sounds, they want George Bush for the role of dictator.

The lesson of history is dictatorship breeds more war and instability. The enduring solution is how best to foster a democracy that works for the natives, themselves, not for the neocons in Washington and elsewhere.

However Bush wants to justify his Iraqi dictatorship, he must persuade Iraqis invasion is for their own good. Those who disingenuously argue Bush did the Iraqis a favor by invading them, conveniently forget they were not at each other's throats before he arrived. And even now, preaching the world is better off without Sadddam, Bush is still not content to let Iraqis freely explore their own solution to self-government. Is it democracy for outsiders to impose structures and limits on what government Iraqis can have?

The ultimate laugh is Bush and Rice jet around the world preaching democratization-- which they say includes a free and inquiring press, personal rights and privacy, and freedom of speech. Only when they tire of their hypocrisy will the American experiment convince others. We need regime change in Washington, first.

[madinusa]

madinusa....I am made in the USA, but I am also mad. I just want to know that after all is said and done, are my children, grandchildren, and their children going to pay the price for what we are doing now?
Even after we are gone...will there ever be peace over there? It has been this way for centuries..why do we think we can fix it?

[alphaa10-2009]

madinUSA-- Yes, but just wait until the next one. This is too easy a sport for the locals, and it may get nastier before American policy in the region displays more intelligence and takes Palestinian interests fully into account.

The line about Apaches firing Hellfire missiles is probably correct, since we arm Israel to the teeth at absolutely no gain for the cause of peace in the region. This is not an argument for sucking up to oil-rich interests, but an argument for simple fairness. The Palestinians are saying, "Let my people go!" to the Israelis-- what an irony. And Palestinians have absolutely nowhere to go.

By the way, is your blogname "MAD in USA"? Or MADE in USA?

[madinusa]

I am so happy for these guys. Thank GOD it had a happy ending.