JERUSALEM (WJC) — Israel has joined the international bid to find the 223 schoolgirls abducted by a group of Islamist terrorists in Nigeria four weeks ago.
“Israel expresses deep shock at the crime against the girls,” Benjamin Netanyahu’s office quoted the Israeli prime minister as telling Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan in a telephone conversation. “We are ready to help in finding the girls and fighting the cruel terrorism inflicted on you.”
Jonathan confirmed that an Israeli counter-terrorism team would arrive in Nigeria to help in searching for the schoolgirls.
Nigeria is one of Israel’s closest friends in Africa, and it provided Nigerian authorities with medical supplies following an attack against three churches on Christmas Day in 2011 that killed dozens. The assault was carried out by the same Islamist terror group as the one which abducted the girls in northeastern Nigeria. Last September, Israel was among several countries that sent advisers to Kenya to assist in a stand-off with Islamist gunmen who attacked a mall in Nairobi.
The group Boko Haram admitted to capturing the girls, saying they should never have been in school and should get married instead. The group has also threatened to sell the girls as “slaves”. Boko Haram has been engaged in a violent campaign against the Nigerian government since 2009.
It is thought the majority of the girls are Christians, although a number of Muslims are among those who were taken. Chibok, from where they were abducted, is a small community where families are made up of members of both faiths.
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Preceding provided by World Jewish Congress