Mohamed Shehada, top Palestinian wanted resistance fighter for the Israeli army did not hesitate to come out from his hiding place to join a group of Palestinian journalists who organized a sit in protest, on Monday afternoon, near the entrance of the Church of Nativity in southern West Bank city of Bethlehem in protest against the kidnapping of British journalist Allan Johnston of the BBC news section.
Johnston was kidnapped 31 days ago while going from his work to his house in the Gaza strip, without of any signs of his release amid growing concern over his fate.
As soon as Shehada, aged 46 years sow the calls for the protest, which was posted on the local television stations in Bethlehem, he invited four of his colleagues also wanted by the Israeli forces to go to the sit in protest to support the journalists in their demands and for solidarity with the abducted journalist, the five men arrived to the place of the protest, Shehada and his friends with their guns joined immediately the protest, without any concerns of possible Israeli army invasion to pursue them.
Mohamed Shehada, which Israel considers to wanted senior Islamic Jihad Movement leader in the West Bank for more than seven years and he has spent several years in Israeli prisons in the 80s, where he was sentenced to imprisonment for 25 years and has been released in a prisoner exchange that took place in 1985 with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine / General Command.
Shehada is also one of the important and oldest Palestinian resistance leaders in the West Bank. In the past he had been detained by the Palestinian Authority shortly after taking control of the West Bank in 1995 he also survived several assassination attempts by Israeli forces in recent years.
Upon arrival in Manger Square Shehada and his friends greeted the surprised journalists gathered there for the protest, responding to a question about the meaning of the protest, Shehada said that he came to express his indignation and condemnation of this method, which falls under intellectual terrorism as he said, and added, ‘this kidnapping of foreigners is an embarrassment for the Palestinian people and their just struggle, noting that the Palestinian Authority has the responsibility to secure the kidnapped BBC reporter release. ‘
Jonathan Baver official in the BBC news department did not hide his surprise from the presence of a number of Palestinian resistance fighters in this protest and their opinion about the kidnapping, thanked him for such a rare solidarity.
