I wondered when coverage of this event would finaly make it to Indymedia UK. For a site so obsessed with matters in Israel and the Palestinian Territories I would have thought it would have been all over the site but of course the nutcases who control the editorial decision making don't like to see anything that is critical of their beloved Palestinians.

The irony that Gaza, post Israeli Army, is now a lawless mess controlled by Islamic fundamentalists will of course be lost on them.

Tawhid and Jihad Brigade

The group’s full name, Jama’at Al-Tawhid Wa’al-Jihad, tells us that they represent Islam, that they understand what the Qur’an teaches, and that they are following Muhammad’s example. Their common name means: "Monotheism and Holy Fighting.".
Tawhid and Jihad’s objective is to establish an Islamic state in Iraq and then in time a fully Islamic world. Their goal is thus identical to that of the Shi’ite clerics who now control Iraq’s government, notwithstanding that Tawhid and Jihad is a Sunni organization.
The Islamic terrorist group’s preferred targets are coalition forces in Iraq, as well as Iraqi government officials, particularly Shi’ites, and Shi’ite security forces. In full compliance with the Qur’an, Tawhid and Jihad announced that they will "target and kill any Iraqi Muslim who betrays his religion by cooperating with the Infidel Crusaders." Monotheism and Holy Fighting is a Salafi/fundamentalist Islamic gang motivated exclusively by Allah’s Qur’anic orders and Muhammad’s Sunnah. United and driven by their religious beliefs, their organization is comprised of non-Iraqi Muslims, elements of the Kurdish Islamist group Ansar al-Islam, and indigenous Sunni Iraqis.
Monotheism and Holy Fighting has engaged in all of the really popular Islamic behaviors: kidnappings, beheadings, assassinations, heavily armed assaults, ambushes, and suicide bombings. They frequently deploy rocket-propelled grenades, machine guns, and assault rifles in their attacks. And they are especially adept in the use of explosives, both in the form of suicide bombers and IEDs.
Tawhid and Jihad has been linked to several gruesome murders, including the beheading of the American civilian contractor Nicholas Berg. However, Monotheism and Holy Fighting does not limit its attacks to American civilians, American soldiers, coalition military allies, Iraqi government officials and Iraqi security forces. They have also attacked the United Nations, a wide assortment of humanitarian organizations, Kurdish politicians, and Shi’ite clerics.
In the United State’s rush to judgment, Tawhid and Jihad was initially linked to al-Qaeda. But initially, there was no al-Qaeda presence in Iraq. It would be more than a year after the American invasion before a merger of terrorist groups would create an al-Qaeda presence there. On October 17, 2004, eighteen months afer the invasion, Tawhid and Jihad first announced their affiliation with bin Laden and company, pledging to respect the more famous firm’s directives.
One of Tawhid and Jihad’s leaders is Sami Muhammad Ali Said al-Ja’af. He uses the aliases Abu Yusef and Abu Omar Al-Kurdi. He is an explosives expert. He had risen to prominence and favor in the Sunni Islamic community as a result of his repeated and deadly attacks against U.S and coalition forces in Iraq, as well as against Iraqi Shi’ite civilians. This good Muslim and thus bad person is believed to be responsible for 32 car bombings, collectively resulting in several hundred deaths. Now in detention, Muhammad Ali Said al-Ja’af confessed to building 75% of the car bombs used in Iraq since the March 2003, American invasion, including the ones used in the attack on the U.N. headquarters.
Abu Maysarah al-Iraqi is the spokesperson for Tawhid and Jihad. Although his name is a pseudonym, al-Iraqi frequently posts claims of responsibility for terrorist attacks on jihadist websites. In January 2006 he posted a statement announcing the formation of the Mujahideen Shura Council, a coalition of several Islamic groups.
Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, known also as Ahmad Fadil Nazal Al-Khalayleh and Ahmed Fadhil Nazzar Khalaylah, is the leader of the Mujahideen Shura Council and considered to be a founder of Tawhid and Jihad. While it was good that Americans killed him on June 7, 2006, deaths of Iraqi civilians have tripled since that time - so it made no difference.
Abu Musab al-Zarqawi was born in the mid 1960s. He is, or was, a Jordanian Palestinian and more importantly a devout Sunni Muslim. His "al-Zarqawi" moniker was actually an alias derived from the name of the terrorist leader’s hometown of Zarqa, Jordan. Zarqawi’s goals were Tawhid and Jihad’s goals, which are Islam’s goals: to establish a singular fundamentalist Islamic theocracy in the Middle East and then the world by first deposing all anti-Islamic monarchies in the Middle East. After replacing the secular dictator in Iraq with Islamic clerics, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi envisioned attacking Jewish influences around the world.
In his twenties, Zarqawi left Jordan in the late 1980s to join the Afghan Mujahideen resistance against the Soviets. It was there that he acquired his basic Jihad skills and learned how to operate an effective terrorist group. He returned to Jordan around 1990, but he was arrested by the Jordanian monarchy in 1992 for attempting to set up a Muslim militant group dedicated to overthrowing the king.
In 1999, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi was released from jail when King Abdullah declared a general amnesty. Immediately thereafter Zarqawi set up Jund al-Sham, a Salafi Sunni Islamist terrorist group. Initially, he involved himself in the unsuccessful plot to bomb a Radisson hotel on the eve of the year 2000.
Later that year, while on the run from Pakistani and Jordanian officials, Zarqawi made contact with top al-Qaeda leaders in Afghanistan, including Osama bin Laden. With the support of al-Qaeda and the Taliban, Zarqawi set up a terrorist training facility for Jordanians in Heart, Afghanistan. During Operation Enduing Freedom, Zarqawi conducted guerrilla operations alongside other fundamentalist Islamic jihadists.
Jordanian intelligence, which is the ultimate oxymoron, alleged that Abu Musab al-Zarqawi was wounded in the chest in late 2001. It was then further alleged by those tasked with promoting the now completely discredited notion that Saddam Hussein’s government and al-Qaeda were close allies, that Zarqawi went to a Baghdad hospital for treatment. During his hospital stay he is said to have set up terrorist sleeper cells in Iraq - or so the story goes. And even if it were true, the creation of "sleeper cells in Iraq" is no more an indictment of complicity against the Ba’athist government than the creation of sleeper cells in America is an indictment of complicity against the American government.
A letter recovered by Coalition forces in the Fall of 2004, alleged to be from al-Zarqawi, stated in reference to bin-Laden, that the "distance between our hearts is close." That was true. Islam, Muhammad, Allah, the Qur’an, and Hadith permeated and poisoned both men’s hearts. Yet despite this sentiment Abu Musab al-Zarqawi was an independent and egotistic rebel leader who was known to all as a maverick. Further, on many occasions al-Zarqawi clashed with al-Qaeda’s cofounder, Ayman Zawahiri.
Due to his substantial Jihad experiences, and his devotion to Islam, Zarqawi became proficient in deception, media manipulation, recruitment, and organizing terrorist campaigns. Before his death, al-Zarqawi played a major role in killing American soldiers and Shi’ite civilians. He destabilized the Shi’ite dominated Iraqi government and did his part to inspire a religious civil war, all aimed at establishing an Islamist state in Iraq.
It is interesting to note, that in December 2005, Iraqi security officials confirmed that in 2004, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi had been apprehended and was in custody. But the officials said: "Musab al-Zarqawi was mistakenly released by Iraqi forces." Repeated attempts to eliminate Zarqawi were ultimately successful in June 2006, when special operations forces were able to confirm his location in a house near Ba’qubah with the help of local Shi’ites. He was killed by two 500-pound bombs dropped by F-16s. Only one problem: Iraq is just like Vietnam. With every bomb dropped and every bullet fired, more enemy are manufactured than murdered. The effect of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi’s death on the greater Iraqi terrorist movement has been to increase the carnage considerably.
In a speech broadcast over the internet on January 23rd, 2005, Zarqawi denounced the upcoming elections. He called the candidates demigods and voters infidels. He declared a fierce war against democracy because democracy is the antithesis of Islam. The Jordanian Palestinian Muslim went on to accuse the Americans of rigging the election to favor Iraq’s Shi’ite population. At least he got that right

"but of course the nutcases who control the editorial decision making don't like to see anything that is critical of their beloved Palestinians."

Hmmm, are you saying that stuff on Alan Johnston's kidnapping has been hidden? Cos it hasn't.

Its the 4th article that refers to it, so its appeared before.

People behave strangely in concentration camps.

If Alan Johnston was taken it was probably because he was a Mossad operative.

" I wondered when coverage of this event would finaly make it to Indymedia UK. For a site so obsessed with matters in Israel and the Palestinian Territories I would have thought it would have been all over the site but of course the nutcases who control the editorial decision making don't like to see anything that is critical of their beloved Palestinians."

Now hang on a minute. The "nutcases" are you and I. they are the visitors to the site. ANYONE can post news. So long as it abides by the editorial policy it will be left up. Even news focusing on the right will be left up, but obviously Indymedia has a big liberal bias. Any articles removed are documented on a publically accessible email list along with the reasons for removing an article. Any complaints about something being removed are discussed. There is no core team of editors, simply volunteers, and anyone can join the list and participate in the debate until a decision is agreed upon.

If this story hasn't been on Indymedia before now, why didn't you submit it, rather than simply sit back and *expect* to see it here?

There is plenty here critical of Palestine, and there is often balanced news presenting both sides of the story. Please don't resort to petty point scoring by making vague generalisations like that.

It should be noted Alan Johnstons kidnap comes at at time when Israel is negotiating the release of Gilad Shalit, a IDF soldier kidnapped there last year - and just when the Israelis have refused an offer of a prisoner swap. Palestinian journalists have been so outraged at the kidnapping that they have held demos which the police have attacked, held vigils, organised strikes and even went on hunger strike, outstanding acts of solidarity that led the NUJ to call on it's members to boycott Israeli goods.

Gaza is the worlds largest prison, with only two guarded exits that are effectively controlled by Israel. The kidnaping and the power struggles they betray are not caused by the IDF pullout but by the effect of international sanctions and lack of recognition for the elected government. The 'Quartet' (US, UN EU and Russia) will have to stop following Israels lead in starving and impoverishing Gaza. Israel refused to negotiate with Arafat, snubbed Abbas and now refuse to talk to Hamas - they will never ecognise any Palestian leader.

Before they pulled out, Israeli bulldozers trashed the best agricultural land in Gaza, closed the Israeli border and tightened restrictions on local fishermen forcing them to overfish breeding stock close to shore. Virtually the only employer in Gaza is the Palestinian authority which has been under financial embargo for so long it cannot pay it's employees, leading to strikes by refuse collectors and the defection of police to better armed clan militia. Israel and the Quartets policies seem designed to drive Palestinian youth to extremism and terrorism, and this will help groups like Al Qaeda recruit worldwide. To complain of the lack of an effective palestinian security force while simultaneously stopping the payment and training of such a force is dangerously duplicitous.


Mahmoud Labadi served as the spokesperson of the PLO in Lebanon and was the director general of the Palestinian Legislative Council until 2005. In the following article he not only condemns the kidnapping but explains the context in more detail.

Kidnapping Phenomenon in Gaza
 http://www.amin.org/look/amin/en.tpl?IdLanguage=1&IdPublication=7&NrArticle=40054&NrIssue=1&NrSection=3

Oh, 'regular' can't that regular if he thinks IM haven't covered the Johnston kidnap.
 http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2007/04/367949.html

Boycott in aid of Alan Johnston
 http://www.nuj.org.uk/inner.php?docid=1685

Palestinians harmed by fishing restrictions off Gaza, say UN aid officials

Israeli restrictions on where Palestinian fishermen can work in the waters off the Gaza Strip are hurting more than 40,000 people who depend on the industry as their main source of income, the United Nations humanitarian arm warned today. The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) called for an immediate easing of the restrictions given that April is the start of the annual high season, when fish migrate from the Nile Delta region in Egypt to Turkish waters across the Mediterranean Sea.

Under current restrictions, Palestinians are allowed to fish only up to six nautical miles off the Gaza coast, whereas a deal in 2002 between the UN and Israel allowed for fishing up to 12 miles off the coast and the Oslo Accords of 1993 gave fishing rights for up to 20 miles....“Being confined so close to shore has meant poor catches for Gazan fishermen in terms of fish size, value and quantity,” she said, adding that fish stocks have depleted because many natural breeding grounds are close to shore.

Many of the Israeli restrictions seem to be imposed arbitrarily, OCHA said in a press release, with fishing allowed in some locations but not others, and on some days but not others. It called for a means of communication between Israeli naval boats and Palestinian fishermen to reduce the hazards....OCHA also said that many Gaza residents now buy fish imported from Israel at a much higher price because of the restrictions, placing the commodity out of reach of many people.

IMCister made a comment that said,

"Now hang on a minute. The "nutcases" are you and I. they are the visitors to the site. ANYONE can post news."

Well yes that is sort of true. While in theory anyone can post as we all know and see that is providing the posts follow a line which those who edit the site approve off. Control of Hiding and Editing is not in the hands of the general readers is it ? I realise that weidos and Nazis need to be kept away and their stuff removed but the sometimes heavy handed approach taken doesn't always do Indymedia any favours.

Now before anybody gallops up with their usual "Do it yourself, those running the site work really hard" etc etc etc it's worth remembering that this is a shared open site where the opinions of those like me whose contribution is to post regular reports is just a valid as those who do techie work.

I am uncomfortable with the opinions about Israel that are sometimes placed here, they do on occasions cross the line into outright anti semitism and too many time people are quick to hide reports that talk about the problems with the Palestinian people who like others have their crackpots, racists, homophobes and religious extremists.

This story deserved greater coverage on Indymedia, there are many who have Palestinian friends who must know information and yet they have written nothing. Sometimes the Palestinians are in the wrong, this is one of those times.

Best wishes

"Sometimes the Palestinians are in the wrong, this is one of those times."

Oh my - you clearly have more information than pro-Palestinian activists - I am absolutely amazed to learn that ALL Palestinians bear responsibility for whatever has happened to this journo. pro-Palestinian activists, like the majority of Palestinians have no idea who did this, or why.

As for this alleged widespread hiding of anti-Palestinian posts - have you any evidence to back this up. Reposts from Frontpage magazine do, of course, get hidden - but I still think your claim is bollocks.

And in this case the comment above is also racist: "popular Islamic behaviors: kidnappings, beheadings, assassinations, heavily armed assaults, ambushes, and suicide bombings".

Who really benefits from there being fewer reporters in the worlds largest prison camp?

My prayers go out to Alan and his family.

As for law and order in Palestine, I'm sure that they might have some if the USA taxpayers gave them as much money as they give to Israel.

I'd like to think Jews, Muslims and Christians should be 100% behind the freeing of this man.

The BBC are reporting a website 'two Palestinians' have set up. There isn't much on it yet.
 http://www.free-alan.com/

There is also an online petition for those who like those things.
 http://www.petitiononline.com/freealan/petition.html