By Richard Norman
Yesterday an Islamist group in Gaza declared that they had killed the BBC journalist Alan Johnston. (As of today the BBC had not received independent verification of this claim). From the NYT:
BBC executives said only a few days ago that those holding Mr. Johnston had made no clear demands. At a news conference in the West Bank city of Ramallah on Thursday that marked a month since the abduction, Mr. Thompson, the BBC official, said he had been told by the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, that there was "credible evidence" that Mr. Johnston was safe and well.
Palestinian moderates in Gaza have voiced concern recently over what they call the growth of "Al Qaeda-type thinking" in the Gaza Strip. Over the weekend, a Christian bookstore and an Internet cafe were damaged by bombs that were presumably the work of Islamic militants.
There are many reasons why this is a sad story. Among them: Alan Johnston was one of the last journalists working for a major broadcaster in Gaza, sharing the stories of Palestinians with the world. Whether he has been killed or not, his kidnapping greatly reduces the likelihood that media companies will send journalists and employees to Gaza in the future. A forsaken strip of land on the Mediterranean seems likely to become more so.