Last update - 00:00 03/05/2007
Haniyeh: U.K. refused proposal to forcibly release Johnston
By Avi Issacharoff , Haaretz Correspondent, and Haaretz Service
Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh announced Wednesday that British officials rejected a Palestinian proposal to use force in order to secure the release of captured BBC reporter Alan Johnston.
Haniyeh said "we seriously considered using force to get to the place where we suspect he [Johnston] is being held, but the British government and its foreign minister denounced the idea, out of fear for his life."
The British Broadcasting Corp. correspondent, 44, was kidnapped on March 12 in Gaza City.
Haniyeh also said Wednesday that his government is making great efforts to negotiate a meeting with those suspected of having carried out the kidnapping.
Earlier Wednesday, Haniyeh reported progress in efforts to free Johnston, saying negotiators persuaded the captors to reduce their demands.
Haniyeh said Johnston's kidnappers reduced their original demands, confirming earlier reports that officials were negotiating with the kidnappers. He did not say what the demands were.
It was the first time the Palestinian prime minister has spoken at length regarding the government's efforts to free Johnston, who has spent more than 50 days in captivity - much longer than any other foreigner kidnapped in Gaza.
Addressing reporters in Gaza City, Haniyeh suggested the kidnappers belonged to an Islamic extremist group. "The kidnappers mixed politics, ideology and [Islamic] religious law... that moved them to think that this work [kidnapping] is allowed," he said.
The Palestinian prime minister said a messenger sent his office 10 ideological questions posed by the kidnappers about the legitimacy under Islamic law of taking Johnston hostage.
Haniyeh said Islamic religious experts were called in to answer the questions, and through debate and study, the demands were reduced to three. He said they were not related to Palestinian politics.
Abbas: We know location of missing reporter
Earlier Wednesday, PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas was quoted as saying that Palestinian security forces know of Johnston's whereabouts, suggesting PA security forces are reluctant to use force for fear harm might come to the hostage.
"We want to protect his [Johnston's] life and finish this safely," Abbas was quoted as saying by a Fatah-affiliated Web site.
The comments confirmed that negotiations are under way to win his release.
Earlier in the day, Israel Radio, quoting the London-based Al-Hayat newpaper, said that Haniyeh sent a strongly-worded letter to the kidnappers, warning them that there would be dire consequences if Johnston were to be injured or not released soon.
The report said the kidnappers were demanding the release of an Iraqi woman incarcerated in Jordan for planning to carry out a suicide bombing in Amman.
Johnston, who was ending a three-year assignment as Gaza reporter for the BBC at the time of his kidnapping, has been held longer than any of the dozens of journalists and other foreigners kidnapped in recent years. Most were released after a few hours or days. Little has been reported about Johnston's whereabouts or condition.
On Monday, Haniyeh's deputy, Azzam al-Ahmed, said Johnston's captors had called earlier in the day with new demands in exchange for his release.
BBC officials have previously denied that the abductors have made any demands. A dozen journalists and foreign workers have been kidnapped in Gaza in the past 18 months, but most of them were released within hours unharmed. No abductors were ever charged or tried for the kidnappings.
A little known group has claimed to have killed Johnston, but provided no evidence of their claim. Al-Ahmed said Monday the kidnappers said in their most recent phone call that Johnston is in good health.
"We are working quietly but actively on the issue of kidnapped journalist Alan Johnston," Haniyeh told a news conference on Tuesday. "I have authorized somebody from my office to follow up this issue. He is communicating with several sides. I hope this will be fruitful in ending this issue."
Meanwhile, a Palestinian security chief said in an interview published Tuesday that Palestinian security forces know the identity of the 44-year old reporter's kidnappers, but are not going to use force to win his release.
Rashid Abu Shbak, who supervises several Palestinian security forces in the West Bank and Gaza, told the Al-Ayyam daily that the volatile situation in the coastal territory didn't permit a rescue raid.
The security forces know the identity of the group that kidnapped Johnston, he said, adding that the British government had asked Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas not to resort to force in releasing Johnston so as not to endanger his life.