Hamas Monday arrested the spokesman of a shadowy group holding
BBC reporter Alan Johnston, a move that could give it a bargaining
chip to secure the Briton's release.
Hamas has demanded that the Army of Islam, led by a violent Gaza
clan, free Johnston, who was kidnapped on a Gaza City street on
March 12.
But the group, whose formerly close relations with Hamas have
soured, has demanded that Britain first release a radical Islamic
cleric with ties to Al-Qaida. It has vowed to kill Johnston if
Hamas tried to free him by force.
The Army of Islam threatened to release what it said were
damaging documents about Hamas if its spokesman, Abu Khatab
al-Maqdisi, weren't freed. It also kidnapped 10 members of Hamas,
the Islamic group whose violent takeover of the Gaza Strip last
month has not empowered it enough to secure Johnston's release.
Al-Maqdisi was arrested while trying to fire on members of a
Hamas-allied security force, said Sami Abu Zuhri, a senior Hamas
official, who denied any link between al-Maqdisi's arrest and
efforts to free Johnston.
But a later statement from Hamas said several people involved in
Johnston's kidnapping were arrested "after the failure of peaceful
efforts to release him." Two other Army of Islam members were
arrested last week.
The Army of Islam said in a statement that Al-Maqdisi was
leaving early morning prayers.
?
In a statement posted on militant websites, the Army of Islam
threatened to release documents suggesting misconduct among Hamas
members. "We will release some documents that reveal the truth
about some personalities who have tricked the Muslim community,"
the statement said.
Johnston has been held far longer than any Western journalist
abducted in Gaza. Hamas has said it knows where to find Johnston,
but has not raided the hideout for fear of harming him.
Last week, the Army of Islam posted a video message from
Johnston on a militant website in which he said he was dressed in
an explosive belt that his captors would detonate if there was an
attempt to free him.
The tit-for-tat arrest and kidnappings reflect new tensions
between Hamas and the Army of Islam, which was also involved in the
capture of Israeli Corporal Gilad Shalit more than a year ago.
(China Daily July 3, 2007)
