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Beaten Fox News Journalists: Arab crowd went straight for our heads. A few days after being pummeled nearly to death by crowds of pro-Mubarak Arab thugs on the streets of Egypt, Fox News journalists Greg Palkot and Olaf Wiig finally felt strong enough to appear on camera and give first-hand testimony of what kind of barbarism they suffered at the hands of said thugs. To hear Palkot and Wiig tell their story, it sounded like they were right in the middle of a war zone in Tahrir Square. Particularly telling is Palkot’s testimony that the Arab crowd intentionally made a...

CAIRO, Egypt – It was Wednesday afternoon. We were covering the clashes between pro- and anti-government protesters near Tahrir or Liberation Square in Cairo. A short time after we started our shooting, cameraman Olaf Wiig was threatened by a small group of pro-Mubarak thugs. We ducked down an alley. It turned out to be a dead end, so we dashed into a nearby building. At first it was a perfect vantage point to cover the street battle. Then it quickly turned into a battle station for the pro-government side. Olaf, producer Ibrahim Hezbroun, a Canadian journalist, and myself hunkered down...

CAIRO — Security forces and gangs chanting in favor of the Egyptian government hunted down journalists at their offices and in the hotels where many had taken refuge on Thursday in a widespread and overt campaign of intimidation aimed at suppressing reports from the capital. By evening, it appeared that none of the major broadcasters were able to provide live footage of Tahrir Square, the epicenter of antigovernment protests. Al Jazeera and Al Arabiya television networks said their journalists had been hounded from the street and from the vantage points above the square where cameras had been placed, and both...

  WASHINGTON — When Barack Obama went to Cairo in June 2009, he was lauded for seeking "a new beginning between the United States and Muslims around the world." His speech was spiked with apologies for what he believes are past American errors and omissions and peppered with Utopian calls for "peace in the Middle East," a "world in which no nations hold nuclear weapons" and upholding "the richness of religious diversity." The president also boldly proclaimed himself to be "a student of history." But two years on, it appears he has not learned some of history's lessons very...

The attacks on journalists covering the protests in Egypt have escalated, with reports Fox News correspondent Greg Palkot and his photographer Olaf Wiig have been severely beaten in an attack in Cairo. Fox News anchor John Roberts described the attack today, saying Palkot and Wiig were left with “fairly grave” injuries but have now been released from the hospital. Palkot, who’s been in the center of the protests in Cairo for days, became cornered by pro-government forces, according to Roberts: They were forced to leave their position when a Molotov cocktail was thrown at it, a large fire erupted. They...

Steve Centanni and Olaf Wiig framed by shadow of Adam Gadahn Last month, American al-Qaeda operative Adam Gadahn issued a “convert-to-Islam-or-die message to U.S. President George W. Bush, Daniel Pipes, Michael Scheuer, Steve Emerson and Robert Spencer. This attempt at forced conversion to Islam followed the “conversion” at gunpoint of the two kidnapped Fox News reporters Steve Centanni and Olaf Wiig. What exactly was the significance of these events? On the one hand, these attempts at forced conversion were in clear continuity with Islam’s long history of calling people to convert before waging war on them. But how exactly...

This is one case where silence isn't golden and ignorance isn't bliss. They are dangerous and dumb It's not easy to be shocked by jihad these days, five years and numberless atrocities after the Twin Towers imploded on almost 3,000 fellow citizens. That said, I admit my own jihad-fatigue was broken — shattered, really — by the "conversion" to Islam of Fox journalists Steve Centanni and Olaf Wiig videotaped during their two-week ordeal as captives of Palestinians in Gaza. Why? Andrew G. Bostom, writing at Frontpage mag. tells us forced conversions to Islam "have been the norm, across three continents...

IF YOU WERE one of the journalists kidnapped in Gaza last month and ordered at gunpoint to become a Muslim, what would you have done? Fox News reporter Steve Centanni and photographer Olaf Wiig announced their acceptance of Islam on a videotape released by their kidnappers -- ``because they had the guns," Centanni later said, ``and we didn't know what the hell was going on." Whether their acquiescence was an act of cowardice or of prudence, reasonable people can debate. Clearly it wasn't their only choice. If I were ever told, with a gun to my head, to recite the...

Did you see that video of the two Fox journalists announcing they'd converted to Islam? The larger problem, it seems to me, is that much of the rest of the Western media have also converted to Islam, and there seems to be no way to get them to convert back to journalism. Consider, for example, the bizarre behavior of Reuters, the once globally respected news agency now reduced to putting out laughably inept terrorist propaganda.

It's not easy to be shocked by jihad these days, five years and numberless atrocities after the Twin Towers imploded on some 3,000 fellow citizens. That said, I admit my own jihad-fatigue was broken, shattered, really, by the "conversion" to Islam of Fox journalists Steve Centanni and Olaf Wiig videotaped during their two-week ordeal as captives of Palestinians in Gaza.

"... disbelievers will be cast into an eternal fire. But Allah is also ever merciful, and the West can change its ways and turn to the purifying power of Islam ..." -- Kidnapped Fox reporter Steve "Khaled'' Centanni, channeling his captors. We don't often get to watch our media people convert to Islam, so the footage of Fox News' Steve Centanni and Olaf Wiig has been riveting. Some people can't get enough of watching planes fly into the World Trade Center towers; I can't get enough of Centanni and Wiig pledging allegiance to Muhammad, Peace Be Upon Him. The common...

Separated at birth?

Muslims to journalists: "Convert or Die!"Convert or die. That is the message that Muslim terrorists sent by freeing two kidnapped journalists only after they “converted� to Islam on videotape at the point of a gun. The International Herald Tribune reported, The two journalists from Fox News—Steve Centanni, 60, an American, and Olaf Wiig, 36, a freelance cameraman from New Zealand—were held for 13 days in an abandoned garage in the Gaza Strip as hostages of a previously unknown group calling itself the Holy Jihad Brigades. “I’m really fine, healthy, in good shape and so happy to be free,� Mr. Centanni...

Set free after two weeks in captivity, FNC Reporter Steve Centanni and Cameraman Olaf Wiig sit down with Greta for their first television interview since returning to the U.S. What happened during their ordeal? Tune in tonight for the complete story.

The identity of the kidnappers of the two Fox News journalists released un-harmed in the Gaza Strip on Sunday was still shrouded in mystery as Palestinian Authority leaders remained tight-lipped on the case. Cameraman Olaf Wiig, 36, of New Zealand, and US-born correspondent Steve Centanni, 60, were handed over to PA security officers two weeks after they were seized by unidentified gunmen in Gaza City. For a Jerusalem Online video of events click here The two were driven to the Beach Hotel, where they were met by several Palestinian journalists and PA officials, including Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh. "I want...

JERUSALEM, Aug. 27 — Two journalists kidnapped in Gaza were released unharmed on Sunday after being forced at gunpoint to say on a videotape that they had converted to Islam. *snip* “I’m really fine, healthy in good shape and so happy to be free,” Mr. Centanni told Fox News. He said the two had been forced at gunpoint to say that they were converting to Islam and had taken Muslim names. “I have the highest respect for Islam,” he said. “But it was something we felt we had to do because they had the guns, and we didn’t know what...

I just learned of the release of the two kidnapped reporters, Steven Centanni Olaf Wiig, in Gaza. We thank God for their release and safety. They reported that they were forced to convert to Islam at gunpoint and they complied. The implications of this are profound. A Christian who says any statement against Christ (be it coerced or not) has committed the sin of apostasy. "But whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven." Matt 10:33. The Chronicles of the first 500 years of Christianity testify that this was the gravest sin...

Two Fox News journalists freed by militants Sunday described a harrowing two weeks of captivity during which they were blindfolded, tied in painful positions and forced at gunpoint to say on a video that they converted to Islam. After their release, the men met with Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh and left Gaza, but first appealed at a brief news conference for foreign journalists not to be deterred from covering the plight of the Palestinians in the volatile coastal strip. "I hope that this never scares a single journalist away from coming to Gaza to cover the story because the...

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — The first thing Olaf Wiig told his family after militants released him in the Gaza Strip Sunday was that he was sorry he'd worried them, relatives said. "His first comment was that he was sorry he had put us through that," the Fox News cameraman's father, the Rev. Roger Wiig, told reporters in New Zealand. "We are glad to hear his voice and his concerns straight away," Wiig said. "It's been a long and difficult wait," he said. The reverend said his son, 36, told him by telephone from Gaza that he had "recognized it...

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) - Militants freed two Fox News journalists on Sunday in the Gaza Strip, ending a nearly two week hostage drama in which one of the former captives said they were forced at gunpoint to make statements, including that they had converted to Islam. Correspondent Steve Centanni, 60, of Washington, D.C., and cameraman Olaf Wiig, 36, of New Zealand, were dropped off at Gaza City's Beach Hotel by Palestinian security officials. A tearful Centanni briefly embraced a Palestinian journalist in the lobby, then rushed upstairs with Wiig behind him. "I want to thank everybody. I am...

FOX News journalists Steve Centanni and veteran cameraman Olaf Wiig were released by a Palestinian terrorist group early Sunday morning. Centanni, 60, and Wiig, 36, were abducted on August 14th and held captive for 14 days somewhere in Gaza, south of Israel. In an interview with FOX, Centanni said himself, Wiig and a so-called security man were ambushed by a group which consisted of four hooded gunmen. For the first week of Centanni's and Wiig's captivity, there was a virtual news blackout regarding this case with little or no reports on the subject coming from FOX News or any other...

Two Fox News journalists were freed on Sunday in Gaza after a complex deal was hammered out between the kidnappers and the Hamas-led government of Prime Minister Ismael Haniyeh. The negotiations brought an end to the two week long hostage ordeal, but it may complicate efforts to free another captive — Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit — held by Palestinian militants. In its broadcasts, Fox News often portayed the Hamas militants as terrorists, but the kidnapping of the two journalists, sources tell TIME, had nothing to do with Fox's perceived pro-Israel stance or a serious attempt, as the captors first demanded,...

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip - Militants freed two Fox News journalists on Sunday, ending a nearly two week hostage drama. One of the former captives said they were sometimes held face down in a dark garage, tied up in painful positions and forced at gunpoint to make videos and say they had converted to Islam. ADVERTISEMENT" Yes No Yes No Yes No Correspondent Steve Centanni, 60, of Washington, D.C., and cameraman Olaf Wiig, 36, of New Zealand, were dropped off at Gaza City's Beach Hotel by Palestinian security officials. A tearful Centanni briefly embraced a Palestinian journalist in the lobby,...

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Two FOX News journalists were released by their kidnappers Sunday, nearly two weeks after they were taken hostage in the Gaza Strip. Steve Centanni, 60, and Olaf Wiig, 36, left Gaza and have since crossed into Israel after their release. The men left Gaza through the Erez border crossing. The freeing of Centanni, a correspondent, and Wiig, a cameraman, ends the longest-running drama involving foreign hostages in Gaza. The two journalists were dropped off at Gaza City's Beach Hotel by Palestinian security officials and appeared to be in good health. A tearful Centanni embraced a...

On the face of it, conversion to Islam would appear to provide a painless escape device for any hostage who happens to fall into fundamentalist terrorist hands. After all, once free, the hostage can always revert to his real faith or non-faith. It is hard to blame the two Fox News journalists, the American Steve Centanni, 60, and the New Zealander, Olaf Wiig, 36, for taking that path on to buy their way out of an uncertain fate at the hands of Palestinian terrorists – especially as they later reported they were forced to make the gesture at gunpoint. And,...

<p>Two FOX News journalists were released Sunday, nearly two weeks after being seized by militants in Gaza. First footage showed the two, Olaf Wiig and Steve Centanni, being dropped off at Gaza City's Beach Hotel.</p>

Per Fox News

The kidnappers of the two Fox News journalists abducted in Gaza City on August 14 have promised to release them unharmed, Palestinian Authority officials said on Saturday night. According to the officials, the PA has managed to establish contact with the kidnappers, who promised to resolve the affair peacefully. PA Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh said he had personally received assurances from the kidnappers that the two, reporter Steve Centanni, from the US, and cameraman Olaf Wiig, from New Zealand, would be released unharmed and unconditionally. PA Interior Minister Said Siam, who is in charge of part of the PA security...

As vague as it was, the demand put forth Wednesday by a previously unknown Palestinian militant group calling itself the Holy Jihad Brigades who claimed to be behind the August 14 capture of two Fox News crewmen in Gaza appeared to be just part of yet another anti-Western kidnapping. In a videotape showing the two journalists — Steve Centanni, 60, a U.S. citizen, and Olaf Wiig, 36, a New Zealand cameraman — their captors demanded that in return for their release the U.S. should free an unspecified number of Muslim prisoners from its jails. But Palestinian security sources tell TIME...

Excerpt - The two Fox News employees kidnapped in the Gaza Strip recently are being held by one of Fatah's militias, Palestinian Authority security sources and Hamas activists told The Jerusalem Post on Thursday. On Wednesday, a hitherto unknown group calling itself the Holy Jihad Brigades claimed responsibility for the abduction and demanded that Muslim prisoners in US jails be freed within 72 hours. The kidnappers released a video showing correspondent Steve Centanni of Washington DC and cameraman Olaf Wiig of New Zealand dressed in training suits and sitting cross-legged on the floor inside a dark apartment. ~ snip ~...

The wife of kidnapped Kiwi cameraman Olaf Wiig made a fresh appeal for the release of him and his Fox News colleague last night, a day after a video tape of the two men was issued by their captors. Wiig and correspondent Steve Centanni were taken from the Gaza strip on August 14 by gunmen. Speaking before meeting Palestinian Prime Minister Ismael Haniyeh, Ainta McNaught urged the hostage-takers to understand that her husband and Centanni, were not their enemies. "Olaf and Steve have always worked for the interest of the Palestinian people, they came here to support you by telling...

A previously unheard of Palestinian group, the Holy Jihad Brigades, claimed responsibility on Wednesday for kidnapping a Fox News cameraman and correspondent, Al-Jazeera satellite TV reported. American correspondent Steve Centanni, 60, and cameraman Olaf Wiig, 36, of New Zealand were kidnapped Aug. 14 from their TV van near the Palestinian security services headquarters in Gaza City. Although Palestinian militant groups have often seized foreigners, including members of the media, this is the longest any have been held.

A group calling itself the Holy Jihad Brigades released a video overnight of New Zealand cameraman, Olaf Wiig, and his journalist colleague Steve Centanni. The group stated: "In exchange for the release of the Muslim prisoners, males and females in the prisons of America, with our prisoners. Release our prisoners and we will do the same. This applies to all without exception. And every Muslim is more cherished and more generous that a 1,000 Bushes. But this is a tradeoff of equals. We will grant you 72 hours…" See below for the full statement from the Holy Jihad Brigades. Statement...

Terrorism analysts say al Qaeda may have conducted their first operation in Gaza. This after a video was released today of the two Fox News journalists held hostage since August 14 along with an accompanying written statement issued by a previously unknown group calling itself the "Holy Jihad Brigades." The language in the statement, which denounces the U.S.-led wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, is similar in style and content to the kind of dispatches issued by Abu Musab al Zarqawi when he was leading al Qaeda in Iraq. One sentence states, "You infidels and masters of oppression: Convert to Islam...

The Rev. Jesse Jackson said Wednesday he would lead an ecumenical delegation to the Middle East this week to meet with political and religious leaders about troubles in the region, including the kidnapping of two Fox News journalists. Jackson, the veteran civil rights leader and head of his Chicago-based Rainbow/PUSH Coalition, said the group would leave Friday night for meetings in Syria, Lebanon and Israel. He declined to release his planned itinerary because of security concerns. "We had been working with the Middle Eastern Council of Churches, but couldn't get in earlier because of the bombings," Jackson said. He said...

The president spoke with UN SG Kofi Annan about the international force being assembled for Lebanon; the Iranian regime's statement on its nuclear program; and the need to improve the situation in Darfur. He attended a fundraiser for Senator George Allen, R-VA. President Bush met with Rockey Vaccarella, Louisiana victim of Hurricane Katrina, to discuss rebuilding efforts there.

Bob Laurence, TV critic for the San Diego Union-Tribune, sent a letter to Romenesko setting forth a couple of reasons for the scant coverage given to the kidnapping in Gaza of two Fox News journalists (via Michelle): ... Fox has deliberately set itself apart from other news media. Starting at the top with Roger Ailes, the Fox sales pitch has been to deride other media, to declare itself the one source of the real truth, the sole source of 'fair and accurate' news reporting. As a result, there's not a reservoir of kinship or good will with Fox on the part of the rest...

By Jules Crittenden Boston Herald City Editor Wednesday, August 23, 2006 - Updated: 12:39 PM EST It’s been over a week since Fox TV newsmen Steve Centanni and Olaf Wiig were abducted in Gaza. Until today’s terrorist video by the Holy Jihad Brigade, showing them both alive and demanding the release of Muslim prisoners in America, the news wires and other outlets were largely silent about them. On the right half of the blogosphere, there were suspicions the lack of coverage may be due to Fox’s conservative tilt, much criticized by the left and within the American media in general....

A previously unknown militant group has released a video of two Western journalists who were kidnapped in the Gaza Strip nine days ago. Olaf Wiig, 36, and Steve Centanni, 60, of US channel Fox News, were shown telling their families they were in "fairly good health". A fax from the "Holy Jihad Brigades" to news agencies demanded the US release "Muslim prisoners" within 72 hours. The video was sent to the Qatar-based TV news channel al-Jazeera TV.

The United States government on Wednesday called for the immediate release of two Fox journalists being held by a militant group in Gaza, but added that the US would not make any concessions in return. "We hope the kidnappers will release Steve Centanni and Olaf Wiig at the earliest opportunity. It is the position of the US Government that we do not make concessions to terrorists," Micaela Schweitzer-Bluhm, spokeswoman for the US Consulate in Jerusalem, said. (Reuters)

Gives 72 hour deadline to release all muslim prisoners.

Gaza group claims kidnapping of Fox journalists Wed Aug 23, 2006 08:58 AM ET GAZA (Reuters) - A previously unknown militant group in Gaza claimed responsibility on Wednesday for the kidnapping nine days ago of two Fox journalists and demanded the United States release "Muslim prisoners" within 72 hours. "Release what you have, and we will release what we have," the Holy Jihad Brigades said in a fax sent to reporters.

Video of kidnapped journalists released A previously unknown Palestinian group released the first video Wednesday of two kidnapped Fox News journalists and demanded that Muslim prisoners in U.S. jails be released within 72 hours in exchange for the men, a Palestinian news agency reported. In the video, Steve Centanni, 60, of the San Francisco area, and cameraman Olaf Wiig, 36, of New Zealand, appeared to be in good health, seated on the floor in sweat suits against a black background. No armed men were shown. "Our captors are treating us well," Centanni said, adding that they had access to clean...

The brother of an American journalist abducted by masked gunmen in the Gaza Strip last week says he and other family members are concerned that the captors have not come forward with demands. Steve Centanni, 60, a national correspondent with Fox News, and freelance cameraman Olaf Wiig, 36, of New Zealand were abducted last Tuesday as they were parked in a vehicle marked "TV" near the headquarters of the Palestinian security service. No one has taken responsibility for the kidnappings.

Pleas made for release of 2 journalists By DIAA HADID, Associated Press Writer 6 minutes ago A New Zealand envoy and the brother of an American reporter made separate televised pleas Sunday urging militants to release two Fox News journalists kidnapped last week in the Gaza Strip. American correspondent Steve Centanni, 60, and cameraman Olaf Wiig, 36, of New Zealand were seized Aug. 14 from their TV van near the Palestinian security services headquarters in Gaza City. The New Zealand envoy, Peter Ridder, spoke outside the office of Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh in Gaza City shortly after the two...

On August 14, 2006 two journalists working for FOX News were kidnapped in Gaza City near the Palestinian security services headquarters. Abducted were Steve Centanni, 60, national correspondent for FOX News and cameraman Olaf Wiig, 36, of New Zealand. Centanni joined the network at its inception in 1996. Both men were in the area to cover the conflict between Israel and Islamic terrorists. To date no group has claimed responsibility for the kidnappings. The abduction of the two men has been widely criticized by many in the region's Islamic community. Questions are arising over the blackout of information regarding the...

The cameraman, Olaf Wiig, 36, of New Zealand, and American reporter Steve Centanni, 60, were taken Monday from their TV van near the Palestinian security services headquarters. Major militant groups in Gaza have denied involvement and the kidnappers have yet to make any demands.

Palestinian security forces hunted for two abducted Fox News journalists Tuesday, and the Palestinian president and prime minister intervened in an attempt to gain their release. President Mahmoud Abbas and Ismail Haniyeh, the prime minister of the Hamas-led government, scheduled meetings with the news organization's Jerusalem bureau chief, Eli Fastman, and its chief correspondent in Israel, Jennifer Griffin. The prime minister assured the Fox News representatives that Palestinian security forces would use all their power to "put an end to it soon," said government spokesman Ghazi Hamad said, without elaborating. Investigators said the president's office was closely following the probe...

Palestinian security forces hunted for two abducted Fox News journalists Tuesday, and the Palestinian president and prime minister were intervening in an attempt to gain their release. President Mahmoud Abbas and Ismail Haniyeh, the prime minister of the Hamas-led government, scheduled meetings with the news organization's Jerusalem bureau chief, Eli Fastman, and its chief correspondent in Israel, Jennifer Griffin. Investigators said the president's office was closely following the probe into the abduction. American reporter Steve Centanni, 60, and New Zealand cameraman Olaf Wiig, 36, were seized by masked gunmen Monday near the headquarters of the Palestinian security services. No one...

Fox News employees kidnapped: Around-the-clock updates Please keep Steve Centanni and Olaf Wiig in your thoughts & prayers. Monday, Aug 14 FNCers Kidnapped In Gaza: Tight-Lipped > Update: 11:21pm: Here is Jennifer Griffin's 10pm update: "Greta, as you know, we have been reporting today that two of our colleagues were kidnapped in Gaza earlier today. They were taken against their will from the vehicle they were driving in. Fox News at this time is doing everything within its power to get them safely returned back home and we will report more on that as we have details." Fox News Channel...