New Zealand: No Negotiations On Kidnap

New Zealand refused Thursday to negotiate with the kidnappers of a New Zealand cameraman and a U.S. journalist in Gaza, a day after the Fox News pair were shown in a video sitting crossed legged and barefoot on a floor.

An unknown militant group has demanded the release of Muslim prisoners in U.S. jails by Saturday night in exchange for New Zealander Olaf Wiig and American Steve Centanni, breaking 10 days of silence since the journalists were seized in the Gaza Strip.

The U.S. State Department has said it would not negotiate with the kidnappers. New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark took the same position.

"The New Zealand government doesn't negotiate over such demands," Clark said in Wellington, New Zealand. "New Zealand doesn't offer money" to release hostages, she added, so money "won't be coming from New Zealand, that's not the way we operate."

"I am pleased that they appear to be well and that they say they are being treated reasonably," Clark added. "Nevertheless, I remain deeply concerned for their safety. They are in a very difficult situation. Our thoughts are with them and their families."

Peter Rider, a New Zealand diplomat sent to oversee efforts to release Wiig, said New Zealand had no new information about the kidnappers and had not made contact with them.

The video marked the first time militants in Gaza have issued demands beyond the conflict with Israel. The footage also had none of the trappings of locally produced videos, such as flags or masked gunmen, raising the possibility that foreign extremists may have taken root in Gaza.

Palestinian and Israeli officials say al Qaeda has been trying to infiltrate Gaza in the aftermath of Israel's withdrawal a year ago. The Egypt-Gaza border is now rife with smuggling tunnels, and Palestinian militant groups have blown up a border wall to allow people in and out of the area.

In the footage, Centanni, 60, of Washington, and Wiig, 36, appealed for help in getting released. The images of the men sitting in a dark, drab room were the first sign of the journalists since they were abducted Aug. 14 from their TV van in Gaza City.

In a statement attached to the video, a group calling itself the Holy Jihad Brigades railed against the U.S. wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and characterized them as a war against Islam. It made no demands of Israel.

Local militant groups routinely try to limit the conflict to a fight between Palestinians and Israel, fearing they could otherwise cause a backlash against the Palestinian cause. Major militant groups, including the ruling Hamas movement, have all condemned the kidnapping and called for the journalists' release.

Legislator Saeb Erekat, who is close to moderate Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, said the kidnappers' demands undermined efforts to win the release of more than 7,000 Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.

Militants with ties to Hamas have been involved in kidnappings in the past, including the June 25 abduction of an Israeli soldier, aimed at winning the release of Palestinians from Israeli jails.

Over 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 is the longest so far.

Wigg's wife Anita — also a journalist — is in Gaza searching for his whereabouts and pleading for his safety. For the first time, she now has proof he's alive, CBS News correspondent Charlie D'Agata reports.

Centanni's brother welcomed the video.

"We're very relieved that the kidnappers have contacted the world and we can see our brother and Olaf," Ken Centanni said from his San Jose, Calif., home. "They look tired and a bit down, but they look good. We're just at this point going to do what we can to secure their release."

Palestinian security officials said they were analyzing the video and even turned to Islamic experts for help in deciphering the poetic verses from the Quran, the Muslim holy book, in the statement.

The kidnappers of Centanni and Wiig demanded that Muslim prisoners in U.S. jails be released within three days in exchange for the hostages. The group did not say what would happen if the deadline passes.

It was not clear whether the group was referring to prisoners being held by the United States in Guantanamo Bay or Iraq, where the U.S. is holding large numbers of Muslim prisoners.