Kidnapping in Gaza
Photo: AP
Egyptian military attache kidnapped in Gaza
Gunmen arrive at home of Egyptian envoy, forcibly place him in vehicle before driving off; incident takes place during same time Omar Suleiman, top Egypt envoy, orders evacuation of Egyptians sent to train PA police
Never a dull moment in Gaza: Today it was the turn of the Egyptian diplomat to be kidnapped by gunmen.
Kidnappers arrived at the home of Husam al-Masri, Egypt's military attaché in Gaza, on Wednesday afternoon.
Al-Masri was forced into a vehicle which then disappeared. Palestinian police were called to the area, and searches for the kidnapped envoy have begun.
Car used by kidnappers (Photo: AFP)
The circumstances of the incident are unclear, but the PA is treating the kidnapping with much more severity than previous kidnappings, due to the fact that al-Masri is a senior representative from Cairo.
Egypt has organized all of the rounds of talks between Palestinian organizations and various factions on a ceasefire and other issues.
Until recently, Cairo also sent dozens of security advisors and instructors in order to train the Palestinian security services, but has recently evacuated them.
The incident in Gaza is joined by a long list of kidnappings that recently took place in Gaza, in most cases foreign citizens.
This morning, Palestinian terrorists opened fire at the Erez crossing, before IDF soldiers returned fire, killing two gunmen. There were no injuries among IDF soldiers.
Hanan Greenberg contributed to this report
