The video, of 60-year-old Steve Centanni and his 36-year-old New Zealand-born cameraman Olaf Wiig, was aired on Wednesday by a PA-controlled station in Gaza. The men were seen wearing sweat suits and sitting on the floor.
"We have been taken captive in Gaza and are being held prisoner here," Centanni says in the video. "We're in fairly good condition, we're alive and well and in fairly good health. We get lots of clean water, food every day, access to the bath room, shower, clean clothes and our captors are treating us well. Just want to let you know I'm here and alive, and give my love to my family and friends and ask you to do anything you can to try to help us get out of here."
Wiig then says: "If you could apply any political pressure on the local government here in Gaza and the West Bank, that would be much appreciated by Steve and myself... To my family: I love you all. Please don't worry. I'll do all the worrying for us."
The men have been missing for ten days, ever since they were abducted while sitting in their van near one of the PA’s para-military headquarters in Gaza City.
The terror group holding the men, which calls itself the Holy Jihad Brigades, is breaking with the long-standing PA tradition of releasing journalists mere hours after they are captured. Usually, journalists are kidnapped to extract money or jobs from the ruling faction in Gaza, which wishes to avoid embarrassment.
Fox News, whose tough stance on Islamic terrorism has challenged CNN and BBC worldwide, has increasingly been the target of Moslem anger. Earlier this week, Centanni's brother Ken appealed to the captors on Al-Jazeera, saying:
"Steve has strong respect for the Palestinian people and their culture. Steve was in Gaza with Olaf Wiig to report the truth. He is far more valuable to the Palestinian people free as a journalist than as a captive.”
Wiig's wife Anita McNaught has made similar pleas.
It was reported earlier that the kidnappers had demanded the release of Palestinian prisoners, but the Arab captors stated in a text accompanying Wednesday’s video: "We are going to exchange the Moslem female and male prisoners in American jails in return for the prisoners that we have. We are going to give you 72 hours beginning midnight tonight to take your decision."
The terrorists did not specify what the fate of the journalists would be if their demands are not met. "If you implement and meet our condition, we will fulfill our promise,” they said. “If not, wait, and we are going to wait."
The United States government has called for the immediate release of the journalists, saying it would not make any concessions to the terrorists. "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," a US spokesperson in Israel said Wednesday. American representatives are in contact with PA officials on the matter.
New Zealand officials also said they would not negotiate with the kidnappers, though they, too, said they were engaged in "intense consultation" with the PA authorities and others.
"We have been taken captive in Gaza and are being held prisoner here," Centanni says in the video. "We're in fairly good condition, we're alive and well and in fairly good health. We get lots of clean water, food every day, access to the bath room, shower, clean clothes and our captors are treating us well. Just want to let you know I'm here and alive, and give my love to my family and friends and ask you to do anything you can to try to help us get out of here."
Wiig then says: "If you could apply any political pressure on the local government here in Gaza and the West Bank, that would be much appreciated by Steve and myself... To my family: I love you all. Please don't worry. I'll do all the worrying for us."
The men have been missing for ten days, ever since they were abducted while sitting in their van near one of the PA’s para-military headquarters in Gaza City.
The terror group holding the men, which calls itself the Holy Jihad Brigades, is breaking with the long-standing PA tradition of releasing journalists mere hours after they are captured. Usually, journalists are kidnapped to extract money or jobs from the ruling faction in Gaza, which wishes to avoid embarrassment.
Fox News, whose tough stance on Islamic terrorism has challenged CNN and BBC worldwide, has increasingly been the target of Moslem anger. Earlier this week, Centanni's brother Ken appealed to the captors on Al-Jazeera, saying:
"Steve has strong respect for the Palestinian people and their culture. Steve was in Gaza with Olaf Wiig to report the truth. He is far more valuable to the Palestinian people free as a journalist than as a captive.”
Wiig's wife Anita McNaught has made similar pleas.
It was reported earlier that the kidnappers had demanded the release of Palestinian prisoners, but the Arab captors stated in a text accompanying Wednesday’s video: "We are going to exchange the Moslem female and male prisoners in American jails in return for the prisoners that we have. We are going to give you 72 hours beginning midnight tonight to take your decision."
The terrorists did not specify what the fate of the journalists would be if their demands are not met. "If you implement and meet our condition, we will fulfill our promise,” they said. “If not, wait, and we are going to wait."
The United States government has called for the immediate release of the journalists, saying it would not make any concessions to the terrorists. "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," a US spokesperson in Israel said Wednesday. American representatives are in contact with PA officials on the matter.
New Zealand officials also said they would not negotiate with the kidnappers, though they, too, said they were engaged in "intense consultation" with the PA authorities and others.