Terrorists Threaten Infidels In Gaza

A threat to target all non-Muslims in Gaza has been posted on the internet. The message purports to be from the same group that kidnapped Steve Centanni and Olaf Wiig, the "Holy Jihad Brigades". In practical effect, if taken seriously, this will end all foreign news coverage inside Gaza.

CAIRO (AP) — Palestinian militants who held two Fox News journalists hostage for nearly two weeks threatened in a statement posted online Saturday to abduct non-Muslims visiting the Palestinian territories and kill them unless their demands were met.

The statement, posted in the name of the Holy Jihad Brigades on a website frequently used by militants, said the group would kill any hostages it takes unless they converted to Islam, paid a ransom or Muslim prisoners were exchanged for their release.

"Any infidel blood will have no sanctity," the group said in the statement.

It was not possible to verify the authenticity of the statement, which was dated August 27 — the day militants released American journalist Steve Centanni, 60, and New Zealand cameraman Olaf Wiig, 36. They were seized Aug. 14 in Gaza City.

This despite Fatwas issued by a number of different Muslim religious leaders that promise the safety of anyone who is issued a visa by any Islamic government.

Several Muslim clerics have issued edicts in the past stating that a visa issued by an Islamic country to a non-Muslim person carries an implicit guarantee of the holder's safety.

One of the most recent fatwas, issued in August by an Egyptian cleric, asserted that the guarantee applies to visiting Israelis in spite of popular anger over Israeli military action in Gaza and Lebanon.

All Western news agencies will very likely refuse to send reporters into Gaza at this point unless they are local stringers. This will make the news coming out of that area even more open to suspicion than it already is.