 |
Kate Burton (born 1981) is an English aid worker who was kidnapped together with her parents from the town of Rafah in the Gaza Strip on 28 December 2005.
|
Kate Burton (born 1981) is an English aid worker who was kidnapped together with her parents from the town of Rafah in the Gaza Strip on 28 December 2005.
Seven kidnappers, armed with automatic rifles, pulled over the car occupied by Kate Burton and her parents, Hugh and Win Burton, and then bundled them into a white vehicle on 28 December 2005, while she was showing her parents around the Palestinian town of Rafah close to the border with Egypt.
The Palestinian authorities stepped up efforts to find the three persons by setting up road blocks in the area. The militant group al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades condemned the kidnappings. There were also public protests in Gaza calling for their release.
Palestinian mediators said on 30 December, that they expected the hostages to be released shortly. Subsequently, all three hostages were released on 30 December, following the release of a video by the kidnappers over the internet. No ransom was paid for the release of the hostages. Kate Burton's brother, Jamie Burton, released a statement on behalf of the family saying that Kate intended to continue working in Gaza.
In addition to her native English, Burton is fluent in Arabic, French, German, and Spanish.[ citation needed ]
The Gaza Strip, or simply Gaza, is a Palestinian exclave on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea. The smaller of the two Palestinian territories, it borders Egypt on the southwest for 11 km (6.8 mi) and Israel on the east and north along a 51 km (32 mi) border. Together, the Gaza Strip and the West Bank make up the State of Palestine, while being under Israeli military occupation since 1967.
Rachel Aliene Corrie was an American activist and diarist. A member of the pro-Palestinian group International Solidarity Movement (ISM), she was crushed to death by an armored bulldozer of the Israel Defense Forces in a southern Gaza Strip combat zone during the height of the Second Intifada under contested circumstances.
The International Solidarity Movement (ISM) is a Palestinian-led movement focused on assisting the Palestinian cause in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. ISM is dedicated to the use of nonviolent protests and methods only. The organization calls on civilians from around the world to participate in acts of nonviolent protests against the Israeli military in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
The 84th "Givati" Brigade is an Israel Defense Forces infantry brigade. Until 2005, the Brigade used to be stationed within the Gaza Strip and primarily performs counter-terrorism operations. Givati soldiers are designated by purple berets. The Brigade's symbol is the fox, alluding to Shualei Shimshon, a unit in the 1948 Arab–Israeli War.
Thomas Hurndall was a British photography student, a volunteer for the International Solidarity Movement (ISM), and an activist against the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories. On 11 April 2003, he was shot in the head in the Gaza Strip by an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) sniper, Taysir Hayb. Hurndall was left in a coma and died nine months later.
This page is a partial listing of incidents of violence in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in 2004.
The Popular Resistance Committees (PRC) is a coalition of a number of armed Palestinian groups opposed to what they regard as the conciliatory approach of the Palestinian Authority and Fatah towards Israel. The PRC is especially active in the Gaza Strip, through its military wing, the Al-Nasser Salah al-Deen Brigades. The PRC has planned and executed a number of varied operations, but specializes in planting roadside bombs and vehicle explosive charges - directed against military and civilian convoys.
Rafah is a Palestinian city in the southern Gaza Strip. It is the district capital of the Rafah Governorate, located 30 kilometers (19 mi) south of Gaza City. Rafah's population of 152,950 (2014) is overwhelmingly made up of former Palestinian refugees.
In 2004 the Israeli Defense Forces launched Operation "Days of Penitence", otherwise known as Operation "Days of Repentance" in the northern Gaza Strip. The operation lasted between 29 September and 16 October 2004. About 130 Palestinians, and 1 Israeli were killed.
This page is a partial listing of incidents of violence in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in 2005.
Gilad Shalit is a former MIA soldier of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) who on 25 June 2006, was captured by Palestinian militants in a cross-border raid via tunnels near the Israeli border. Hamas held him captive for over five years, until his release on 18 October 2011 as part of a prisoner exchange deal.
The 2006 Israel–Gaza conflict known in Israel as Operation Summer Rains was a series of battles between Palestinian militants and the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) during summer 2006, prompted by the capture of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit by Palestinian militants on 25 June 2006. Large-scale conventional warfare occurred in the Gaza Strip, starting on 28 June 2006, which was the first major ground operation in the Gaza Strip since Israel's unilateral disengagement plan was implemented between August and September 2005.
The Rafah Border Crossing or Rafah Crossing Point is the sole crossing point between Egypt and the Gaza Strip. It is located on the Gaza–Egypt border, which was recognized by the 1979 Egypt–Israel peace treaty. The original crossing point was named Rafah land port. Only passage of persons is allowed to take place through the Rafah Border Crossing. As per the Israeli-led blockade of the Gaza Strip, the entrance of any goods into Gaza must go through Israel, usually through the Israeli-controlled Kerem Shalom border crossing.
On 23 January 2008, Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip set off an explosion near the Rafah border crossing, destroying part of the 2003 wall. The United Nations estimates that as many as half the 1.5 million population of the Gaza Strip crossed the border into Egypt seeking food and supplies. Due to fears that militants would acquire weapons in Egypt, Israeli police went on increased alert.
Viva Palestina is a British-based organisation formerly registered as a charity. The body came into being in January 2009 with the initial intention of running a convoy of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip. Its aims are the "provision from the UK of food, medicine and essential goods and services needed by the civilian population" [of the occupied Palestinian Territories] and "highlighting the causes and results of wars with a view to achieving peace."
Events in the year 2004 in Israel.
The 2006 Gaza cross-border raid was an armed incursion carried out by seven or eight Gazan Palestinian militants on 25 June 2006 who attacked Israel Defense Forces (IDF) positions near the Kerem Shalom Crossing through an attack tunnel. In the attack, two IDF soldiers and two Palestinian militants were killed, four IDF soldiers were wounded, one of whom was Gilad Shalit, who was captured and taken to the Gaza Strip.
The Agreement on Movement and Access (AMA) was an agreement between Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA) signed on 15 November 2005 aimed at improving Palestinian freedom of movement and economic activity within the Palestinian territories, and open the Rafah Crossing on the Gaza–Egypt border. AMA was described as: ″an agreement on facilitating the movement of people and goods within the Palestinian Territories and on opening an international crossing on the Gaza-Egypt border that will put the Palestinians in control of the entry and exit of people.″ Part of the agreement was the Agreed Principles for Rafah Crossing.
Harmeet Singh Sooden is a Canadian-New Zealand anti-war activist who volunteered for the international NGO Christian Peacemaker Teams in Iraq. He was held captive in Baghdad with three others for almost four months until being freed by multi-national forces on 23 March 2006.