Kidnapping of Alan Johnston

[7] A state of emergency was declared with checkpoints set up to find Johnston, who was in the final weeks of his posting to Gaza, where he had been stationed for three years.

[11][12] In the midst of his third week in captivity, news agencies began reporting on speculation that Johnston had been kidnapped by a powerful Gaza family with criminal connections, and which was willing to switch support to the other faction in the Palestinian Territories should one displease them.

[10] The tape contained still photos, including one of Johnston's BBC card, and demanded "that Britain free our prisoners, particularly Sheikh Abu Qatada, the Palestinian.

[6] Reporters Without Borders (RSF) also voiced their concern at the apparent abduction, blaming it on the "impunity" that no-one involved with prior kidnappings had been convicted that "[encouraged]" his kidnappers to act.

[22] On 15 March, the BBC's Middle East bureau chief Simon Wilson issued a statement in Gaza thanking Ismail Haniyeh, Mahmoud Abbas and the Palestinian government for trying to help resolve the situation.

European Union foreign policy representative Javier Solana told the BBC on 20 March that the EU was doing all it could to try to establish Johnston's whereabouts.

The deputy director of the university's journalism centre noted that the kidnapping "deprived Palestine of an objective reporter relaying its news to the West.

[43] The three-day strike meant that a meeting between United States Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Abbas was boycotted by the local media.

[45] The next day, Britain's Consul-General in Jerusalem Richard Makepeace met with Prime Minister Haniyeh, breaking a ban by the European Union on contacts with Hamas.

[46] Makepeace's office emphasised that the meeting was "strictly for humanitarian reasons", while Reuters quoted some diplomats as saying that it was generally agreed that the boycott of Hamas could be relaxed in emergencies like kidnappings.

He repeated Fran Unsworth's comments made days earlier, saying that the BBC was "increasingly concerned about the physical and mental toll" of Johnston's "incarceration".

[54] Thompson also said that "Alan had been looking forward to returning to his staff post in London in the BBC World Service newsroom" because "Gaza [had] become an increasingly difficult and chaotic place for journalists to operate in safely", seemingly dispelling rumours that he had staged his own kidnapping because he did not want to be transferred.

In a statement, RSF stated that it was "unacceptable that a journalist should be used as a bargaining chip in an abduction", and asked "What are the authorities waiting for to obtain his release?

[61] Aidan White, general secretary of the International Federation of Journalists, announced that he would visit Gaza to deliver a letter to the Palestinian Authority, signed by 200 European MPs, which asked the PA to "make every effort" to ensure Johnston was freed.

Later that day, al-Ahmad told a press conference that Johnston's kidnappers had made new demands, all of which had been rejected, and added that the negotiations were at a "sensitive stage".

[70] Addressing the United Nations General Assembly, Secretary-General Ban again said that he wanted to "plead for the immediate release of the BBC journalist Alan Johnston, abducted in Gaza."

[71] On 2 May, it was revealed that the British Government rejected a proposal by the Palestinian Authority to use force in a possible rescue attempt to free Johnston, due to worries about his safety in such a situation.

Lee Scott, a British MP, had called on Prime Minister Blair to use the time before he stepped down from office to try to free Johnston as well as Gilad Shalit.

Gatherings were held worldwide for the missing journalist, with vigils in London, Beijing and Jakarta, Indonesia, and a rally outside United Nations headquarters in New York City.

[74] At the candlelight vigil in Jakarta, a message from Johnston's father was read out by a British embassy staff member, and it said in part that the family was "overwhelmed" with the support it had received.

[74] The same day, at the Natali Prize awards ceremony for news articles on human rights and democracy, European Commissioner for Development & Humanitarian Aid Louis Michel joined calls for Johnston's release.

Steve Centanni, who was held hostage for two weeks in Gaza in 2006, said that his thoughts were with Johnston, and ten top representatives of Europe's Muslims condemned the kidnapping and called for his release.

[citation needed] Richard Makepeace met a second time with Palestinian Prime Minister Haniyeh over Johnston's continued incommunicado situation on 8 May.

He described the meeting as part of "continuous contacts over this humanitarian case",[77] adding that the "unfortunate incident is of great concern to the British government.

[92] The BBC had earlier reacted to Qatada's offer by saying that they "[welcomed] any assistance from any individual who might be in a position to influence the release of Alan Johnston".

[98] Hamas reacted to the claim by issuing an ultimatum against the kidnappers, warning that it would use military force to free Johnston if he was not freed by the end of Monday, 18 June, to which the Foreign Office expressed deep concern.

Kim Howells of the Foreign Office noted that the situation had to be "handled with great delicacy", and that "we hope that they are not using this as some sort of publicity stunt to win favour with some elements in the West.

[107] To mark the twenty-first day of Johnston's kidnapping, three hundred British media personalities signed an advertisement, organised by the BBC, that was published in The Guardian.

"[109] It was signed by most editors of British national newspapers, including Alan Rusbridger, Robert Thomson, John Witherow, Patience Wheatcroft, Will Lewis, Paul Dacre and Richard Wallace.

He later also met Mahmoud Abbas and Salam Fayyad in Ramallah[116] before returning home, arriving in London on 7 July from Tel Aviv.