Italian journalist abducted in Gaza Strip
Masked gunmen abducted an Italian journalist in the Gaza Strip town of Deir El-Balah today, after stopping his car and forcing him into theirs, witnesses said.
The journalist’s driver identified him as Lorenzo Cremonesi of the Corriere della Sera daily, witnesses said. The gunmen’s car headed for the nearby Nusseirat refugee camp, they added.
Palestinian police had no immediate comment. No one answered the telephone at the newspaper's Jerusalem bureau, and no one was immediately available to comment at the newspaper’s Milan headquarters.
The abduction came just days before the last Israeli troops are to vacate the coastal strip, and was further testimony to the lawlessness gripping the area ahead of the pullout.
Earlier in the day, at least 60 armed Palestinians seized two Palestinian government buildings in the town, demanding jobs with the Palestinian Authority, witnesses said.
In recent months, Palestinian gunmen have abducted several foreigners for use as bargaining chips in local feuds. All hostages have been released unharmed after a few hours.
