The release of the BBC’s Gaza correspondent, Alan Johnston after 114 days of being kidnapped is a cause for celebration, not simply among journalists around the world but also among Palestinians who have felt deep shame and concern at this crime. Johnston’s kidnappers were not only cruel; they were also extremely stupid. Johnston was the only international journalist still operating in Gaza, after other journalists had been seized and briefly detained. His reporting demonstrated considerable sympathy for Palestinians locked up by Israel in what is effectively a massive prison. An Arabic speaker, which is unfortunately a rarity among Western foreign correspondents who tend to rely on translators, Johnston went out of his way to understand the complex currents of local politics and report the enduring tragedy of the people. Perhaps that was why the extremists seized him; it is not in the interests of Al-Qaeda fascists to have the truth reported. Nevertheless, it must be wondered if these criminals will not have won some sort of victory. Will the BBC dare to replace Johnston with another journalist?
Immediately after his release, Johnston was taken to Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh to whom he expressed his gratitude for his release. He made the significant observation that his previously confident captors became uneasy after Hamas gunmen had driven Fatah from Gaza. Some in Hamas have already spun this comment into a suggestion that Fatah had something to with the journalist’s detention.
The reality is that Fatah was unable to move on the Dugmush clan among whom the Army of Islam was based, for fear of provoking Hamas. Once Hamas were in control, Johnston’s captors knew they could no longer play that political card and were subject to immense pressure from Hamas. Unfortunately trying to implicate Fatah in the failure to find and release Johnston diminishes the role Hamas has actually played in securing his release. It will be interesting to see if the Hamas leadership will now take the case to the logical and just conclusion: pursue and arrest the kidnappers for committing a crime, of which kidnapping is one of the most odious. Kidnapping is a form of terrorism that not only condemns its victims to an appalling living death that spreads anguish among friends and family but also terrorizes the community of residents that must live in fear of being abducted to some undisclosed concrete room to an uncertain, terrifying fate.
Kidnapping should be punished severely. Johnston is just one high-profile representative of a larger constituency of nameless unfortunates, particularly in Iraq. Nor should it be forgotten that Israel has committed this act of terrorism by kidnapping leading, democratically elected Hamas politicians. Their seizure too is a serious a crime. Kidnapping is a merciless deed that always reflects badly upon its perpetrators. With the exception of radicals and members of the lunatic fringe, kidnapping is considered universally to be an appalling and unacceptable form of political activism. Kidnapping by Palestinian groups also serves Israel’s interest by helping to depict the people of Gaza as unable to govern themselves. In the interest of self-governance and sovereignty, the Palestinians must root out these terrorists that help Israel justify its illegal occupations.
