Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas said he had proposed that the PA conduct a military operation to free Alan Johnston, the BBC reporter who was kidnapped in Gaza in March.

Johnston is being held by Mumtaz Durmush, the leader of the Army of Islam militant group, senior PA officials told the International Press Institute.

On June 1 the militant group released a video of Johnston, who said he was being treated well. However, it was not possible to tell when the video was filmed.

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The IPI, with a membership of newspaper editors from more than 120 countries, sent a small delegation to Israel and the PA in an attempt to release Johnston.

The delegation met on Tuesday and Wednesday with Abbas, senior government officials and Palestinian intelligence officials.

Abbas told the group that about a month ago he had proposed a PA military operation to free Johnston because they knew who was holding him and more or less where, but the British government said it opposed the idea.

Since that time the PA has been unsuccessful at publicly pressuring Johnston's abductors. Abbas told the delegation that Mumtaz Durmush had become "an emir" and wants to establish an extremist religious sect in Gaza, which Abbas called "a mafia."

Abbas expressed concern that further radical Islamic groups could spring up in Gaza due to the severe economic and political situation, and that sooner or later such groups would reach the West Bank.

Abbas' bureau chief, Rafik Husseini, said Durmush's group saw Johnston as a kind of insurance policy protecting them, so they would keep him alive, while demanding money for his release.

It was also revealed that a senior Hamas official had met with the kidnappers to persuade them to release Johnston, and that the official brought along Islamic authorities to explain that kidnapping was against Islam.

The official told the kidnappers that Hamas would not pay a ransom, and the British would not release Muslim prisoners. The Palestinian officials also told the delegation that the entire Durmush clan was not behind the kidnapping.

A number of ministers expressed the hope that the establishment of a joint Hamas-Fatah situation room would hasten Johnston's release.