The Other Kidnapped Briton

It's good news that Iran has freed the 15 captive British sailors. But there's another Briton who's been missing for over three weeks –Alan Johnston, the BBC's man in Gaza. Common wisdom had it that Palestinian militants were decent kidnappers; they usually freed captured journalists or aid workers after a few cups of tea and profuse apologies.

But that's no longer the case in lawless Gaza, where kidnap victims, especially foreigners, are fast becoming a kind of currency, to trade for jobs, favors and, yes, cash. Johnston was a rare journalist who had no enemies. Posted in Gaza for three years, Johnston, 44, is a solemn, unexcitable journalist, dispassionate and self-effacing, from the old school of broadcasting where the story counted for more than the hack's celebrity. Johnston had only three weeks left to run on his Gaza assignment when he was hijacked on March 12th by gunmen 100 yards from his office. Security experts say the BBC man was probably a target of opportunity, easy prey. The UN officials in Gaza travel in armored convoys and are harder to grab. These days, few other foreigners spend much time in Gaza, if they can help it.

There are plenty of theories as to who might be his kidnappers. But the version that seems to have gained most credibility --on the streets of Gaza, anyway-- is that Johnston wasn't captured because of anything he reported. Most likely he was taken by a large Gazan family known as the Dagmash who have shown a penchant for kidnapping other foreigners, such as a Fox News Team last summer. The Dagmash are in a feud with Hamas militants, once their allies. In a firefight a few months ago, Hamas shot and killed a prominent member of the Dagmash clan. The theory is that they're holding Johnston to embarrass the Hamas Prime Minister Ismael Haniyeh into turning over the militants who killed the Dagmash clansman for their own tribal revenge.

Johnston was a popular figure in Gaza. His reports were fair, balanced and thorough, and his Palestinian and foreign colleagues have rallied to his support by putting pressure on the governing Palestinian Authority to secure his release. A full-page ad pleading for Johnston's freedom also ran in yesterday's Guardian, the British daily. It helps that Johnston speaks Arabic, knows Palestinian customs and has been in tough spots before, notably in Afghanistan during the Taliban days. Even still, it can't be easy. Johnston was supposed to start a well-deserved holiday shortly before he was kidnapped.
--by Tim McGirk/Jerusalem