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Photo: Reuters
Abducted by gunmen
Photo: Reuters

Family: State ignores kidnapping of Israeli-Arab

Riad al-Luah, Israeli citizen, abducted in Gaza last week during family visit in Strip. Relatives outraged that State does nothing to promote his release

Muwafak Mansur, a resident of the Arab town of Tira, lashed out at the Israeli government Monday for failing to deal with the kidnapping of his father-in-law Riad al-Luah, who was kidnapped in Gaza four days ago.

 

No news has been received from al-Luah since his abduction, and some of his relatives are still in the Strip, making efforts to press local authorities to resolve the matter.

 

"Where are all the organizations? Where is the government? Where is the Knesset? An Israeli citizen has been kidnapped and no one does anything about it," Mansur charged.

 

The Gaza-born al-Luah is a Tira resident who was visiting his family in Beit Lahiya during the Id al-Fitr holiday last week. While they were making their way back to the Erez crossing, en route to Israel, al-Luah and his family were attacked by gunmen who shot his wife in the leg and kidnapped al-Luah.

 

The worried relatives have already spoken with the Palestinians interior minister, but no solution has been found so far. Al-Luah continues to be held by his captors, whose identity and motives for kidnapping the Israeli citizen are unclear.

 

Mansur, who is married to Layla, one of Riad's daughters, told Ynet that even today, four days after the abduction, there are still no news on his condition. His family members, Israeli citizens, refuse to leave Gaza until al-Luah is released.

 

'No one cares about Arab citizen'

Mansur complained that the State, the army, and the Arab Knesset members were not exerting pressure on the Palestinian Authority and the Israeli government to act for the release of the hostage and enable his family to return home.

 

"Had it been a Jewish Israeli or a foreign citizen, the world would have jumped through hoops to get them freed. But because it is an Arab citizen, no one cares. Neither the District Coordination Office, nor the IDF nor any other authority is interested. We were not informed of anything that goes on," Mansur stated.

 

Mansur said that his father-in-law is loved by all both in Gaza and Tira, and that "we cannot imagine who could have kidnapped him. He has no enemies and the motive for the abduction is unclear, but the bottom line is that the family is stuck in Gaza, we are stuck here and Riad is still being held by his captors."

 


פרסום ראשון: 10.30.06, 22:21
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