American Professor Abducted in West Bank

An American professor was kidnapped today by Palestinian gunmen in the West Bank. The kidnapping occurred as part of a series of abductions in response to an Israeli raid on a prison in Jericho, The Washington Post reported. The Associated Press and Reuters identified the professor as Douglas Johnson, who teaches English at the Arab American University, in Jenin, which is located in the West Bank. Five other foreign workers were also seized, and at least two of them were later released. Israel said it had raided the prison in order to detain militants whom it held responsible for the assassination of Israel’s tourism minister in 2001.