Ex-hostage vows to stay in Gaza

LONDON, England (CNN) -- A British rights activist who was freed by kidnappers in Gaza has vowed to continue her work in the region despite her two-day hostage ordeal.
Kate Burton, a 25-year-old worker for the Palestinian rights group Al Mezan, and her parents who were visiting her were abducted Wednesday in Rafah, near the Gaza-Egypt border. They were released Friday.
The British Foreign Office on Saturday distributed a statement written by the Burton family, saying Kate "plans to stay in the region and continue working with the Palestinian people."
"Kate remains committed and passionate about working alongside the Palestinians to improve their external image and alleviate the difficult conditions being suffered by the Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip," the statement said.
The Burtons also thanked Britain and the Palestinian Authority for their help in obtaining their release and called the ordeal "just one in the context of a severely increasing state of insecurity in the Gaza Strip."
"We are glad that these last few days are over and we would like to express our gratitude to the Palestinian Authority, the British government and all groups and individuals in Gaza and worldwide who have been supporting us and working around the clock to secure our release. We are in good health and have been treated extremely well through the ordeal."
Israel withdrew troops and settlers from Gaza this summer, but maintains a presence in the West Bank.
The Burton family said that "after these difficult few days, the family strongly requests that they be left in peace to recover with close friends and relatives."
The Britons were kidnapped in Rafah when Burton was showing her parents around the town on the Gaza-Egypt border. (Read about the hunt for the kidnappers)
The identity of the kidnappers was not clear, and earlier, Palestinian officials said they had made no demands.
It was originally believed that the kidnappers were members of a group upset over certain Palestinians being blacklisted and thereby prohibited from crossing from Gaza into Egypt via the Rafah crossing.
Recently, European Union monitors blocked a group of people -- including Jamal abu Samhadan, a leader in the Popular Resistance Committee, and Khaled al-Dadouh of Islamic Jihad -- from leaving Gaza and entering Egypt.
Members of the group were believed to be pressing the Palestinian Authority to end the blacklisting process.
Ihtisham Hibatullah of the Muslim Association of Britain told The Associated Press earlier Friday that his colleagues "have been speaking to people in Gaza and they said they have information that a firm link of communication has been established with the kidnappers and they have agreed to release the hostages."
Hibatullah told AP he understood that Burton, her father, Hugh, 73, and mother, Helen, 55, had been treated well "and are in a good condition."
Copyright 2005 CNN. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report.

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