Kidnapped Israeli Arab released

An Israeli Arab who works for the TV network CNN was released yesterday, a day after he was kidnapped at gunpoint.

Riad Ali was removed from a CNN van in Gaza, when Palestinians stopped the vehicle and asked for him by name. Ali told reporters his kidnappers identified themselves as members of the Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, linked to Yasser Arafat's Fatah movement.

He thanked Arafat and Israeli Arab leaders for aiding his release.