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PortugueseThe beheading of an American captive followed by the release of a US journalist is likely to raise questions about what, if any, concessions should be made to terrorists.
American journalist Peter Theo Curtis, who was held captive for nearly two years in Syria by radical jihadists, was released on Sunday to Israeli territory, according to several media reports.
A senior US official, who provided the information on condition of anonymity, said that Curtis, 45, who wrote under the byline Theo Padnos, was released to the Golan Heights in northern Israel, where he was met by American government personnel and taken to Tel Aviv.
“Theo Curtis, Jim Foley and other journalists traveled to Syria to shed light on the unspeakable horrors being committed against innocents – only to become victims of brutal forces unleashed and abetted by the conflict. So long as any American is held captive, the United States government will do everything in our power to bring them home safely,” US Ambassador to the UN Samantha Power stated.
A freelance writer, Curtis was reportedly being held by an affiliate of Al-Qaeda. His captors had been demanding exorbitant sums of money – at one point $132.5 million.
Relatives of the freed hostage, while not informed about the details of his release, allegedly were told that no ransom had been paid for his freedom, which was negotiated by Qatar, the world’s richest country per capita and a leading supporter of the Syrian rebels fighting to oust President Bashar Assad.
Qatar is the main funder of Hamas and other major terror organizations. In a recent New York Times op-ed, Ron Prosor, Israel’s ambassador to the UN, labelled Qatar a “Club Med for terrorists.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last week released a statement regarding the “barbarism” and “savagery” of Hamas, which is no different than ISIS, Al-Qaeda and other Radical Islamist groups.
Curtis’s release is “likely to raise further questions about what, if any, concessions should be made” to terrorist groups holding Western nationals, a New York Times columnist suggests, adding that the recent beheading of American journalist James Foley, “which shocked and enraged much of the world, also may have spurred Qatar to press more intensively for Mr. Curtis’s release.”
Hundreds of British Citizens Join Anti-West Terrorist Groups
American and British intelligence believe that Foley’s murderer was a UK-born-and-raised jihadist specializing in abductions, according to British websites.
In a Sunday Times article, British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said it was “horrifying to think that the perpetrator of this heinous act could have been brought up in Britain,” calling it an “utter betrayal.”
It is estimated that more than 500 British citizens have traveled to the Middle East to join terrorist groups.
“Interpol said Thursday that Foley’s execution shows the need for a coordinated international effort against the stream of foreign fighters joining extremists in the Middle East,” Ynet reports.
In 2011, Hamas released Israeli captive Gilad Shalit in exchange for 1,027 terrorists held in Israeli prison.
Written by: United with Israel Staff
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