Washington condemned the kidnapping and demanded Mr. Schilling's release.
In Washington, the State Department condemned the kidnapping and demanded Mr. Schilling's unconditional release.
Mikhail Bogdanov, the deputy foreign minister of Russia, a supporter of the Syrian government, said on Thursday during a visit to Beirut that Russia condemned the kidnapping and was making efforts to secure the release of the two clergymen.
All the major Palestinian groups - Hamas, Fatah, even the more combative al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades - have condemned the kidnapping, though recycled press releases are of little comfort, I am certain, to someone in captivity, and of little concern to a kidnapper who knows he will get what he wants anyway.
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas condemned the kidnapping and killing of the Israeli boys and urged both sides to "refrain from violence".
Abbas condemned the kidnapping, not just for Israeli and US ears but also the Arab world, as he "delivered [his comments] at a high-profile gathering of Muslim and Arab officials in Saudi Arabia".
Earlier, Michelle Obama condemned the kidnap as an "unconscionable act" carried out by a terrorist group determined to keep them from getting an education - "or grown men attempting to snuff out the aspirations of young girls".
On Saturday, the United States Embassy in Bogotá released a statement saying, "We condemn the kidnapping of this civilian and demand his prompt release".
The Syrian government issued a statement condemning the kidnapping and saying that "it was confirmed that those who perpetrated this brutal act are Chechen mercenaries," working for a militant Islamist rebel faction called the Nusra Front.
A22 Leader Vows Stronger Germany Angela Merkel made her first major speech as Germany's chancellor, condemning the kidnapping of a German citizen in Iraq and pledging to make the country, with its sluggish economy, "one of the three top countries in Europe in 10 years".
