Chief Palestinian Authority negotiator Saeb Erekat told the BBC on Saturday that the Palestinian Authority should not rule out the use of force to free abducted Gaza correspondent Alan Johnston, who has been held in captivity for nearly three months.

"We must really determine where his location is, and then move ... even if it takes a military or a security operation," he said in an interview with BBC's Newsnight program.

Erekat said PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas was exerting pressure on his cabinet and all the Palestinian factions to ensure Johnston's release.

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"Fatah, Hamas, all the factions, the president, the prime minister, in this particular case, they see eye to eye," Erekat said.

"We are all unified as far as condemning this despicable and shameful act."

According to the BBC, Erekat said the PA did not know anything about the Army of Islam, or its alleged leaders, the Dugmush clan.

"These people are nothing more than gangsters," he added. "I don't think they are linked to anyone."

Earlier in the day, an aide close to Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas said a military operation wasn't in the works to free Johnston.

In the past, Palestinian officials have said they knew where to find Johnston, but have held back on raiding the hideout at Britain's request, for fear of harming him. The Haniyeh aide spoke on condition of anonymity because the situation is so delicate.

Gaza captors release video of kidnapped BBC correspondent
Johnston appeared Friday in a videotape posted on an Islamic militant Web site, saying he had been treated well since his capture.

The video is the first sign of life received from Johnston since he was abducted on March 12.

There was no way to tell when the video was recorded, and it was not clear why his captors chose this time to post it. The British Broadcasting Corp. journalist, who has been covering the Palestinian territories for three years, has a reputation for objectivity, and it seemed likely he was reciting what he was told to say.

Johnston's family said they were pleased to see the first pictures of the British correspondent in almost three months, but very distressed that he appeared in a kidnappers' video.

The tape appeared on the Al-Ekhlaas Web site, frequently used by Islamic militants. It bore the logo of the Army of Islam, the Palestinian militant group that has been believed to be holding the 45-year-old reporter.

The video opened with Arabic chanting and verses from the Koran. Johnston, looking fit and calm, spoke of the suffering Gazans have endured and urged an end to sanctions imposed more than a year ago in a bid to pressure the Palestinian government to recognize Israel's right to exist and renounce violence. He said the Israeli occupation, supported by the West, was to blame for the despair and bad conditions in Gaza.

The video ended with Johnston about to outline conditions for his release, only to have the tape cut away to an unidentified voice in Arabic demanding freedom for Islamic prisoners, including a radical cleric with ties to Al-Qaida imprisoned in Britain. The demand was accompanied by English subtitles.

"My captors have treated me very well, they've fed me well, there has been no violence towards me at all and I am in good health," he said in his opening remarks - then launched into a litany of complaints about Israel, and British and U.S. Mideast policy.

"In three years here in the Palestinian territories I witnessed the huge suffering of the Palestinian people, and my message is that the suffering is continuing and it is unacceptable," he said, blaming Israel.

He denounced Britain and the U.S. for causing suffering in Iraq, Afghanistan and the Palestinian territories, and condemned Britain specifically for occupying Muslim lands against the will of the people in those places.

Johnston skewered Britain for its role in Israel's creation on land the British once administered, calling Israel the cause of all the suffering of the Palestinian people.

"We the British are completely to blame, along with the Americans, for the situation in Iraq," he added, "while the British are the main force in Aghanistan, causing all the trouble to all the simple Afghans who simply want to live."

Johnston started relaying a message to his family, but was cut off. Subtitles then appeared on the videotape, saying, the BBC refused to take this message to his family.

He was shown from the waist up, wearing what looked like a red sweatshirt, and appearing to be seated.

Britain's Foreign Office said it was aware of media reports and was investigating the claims.

"We are urgently investigating these reports," said a spokesman, speaking on customary condition of anonymity.

The BBC said it was also investigating the reports, but had not yet obtained a copy of the video. The company planned to issue a statement later Friday, a BBC spokesman in London said.

Last week, an aide to Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh said Johnston was alive and well, and could soon be released.

He has been missing far longer than any foreigner kidnapped in Gaza, and his disappearance has touched off numerous protests and solidarity marches in London and the Palestinian territories.

The Army of Islam released a 20-minute recording recently, showing a picture of Johnston's press card and demanding the release of a radical Islamist held in a British jail.

The British government has said it would not make any deals to secure the journalist's release.

Palestinian officials have said they knew where to find Johnston, but have held back on raiding the hideout at Britain's request, for fear of harming him. The Palestinian government has instead tried to negotiate with the captors.