PA officials identify BBC reporter's kidnappers

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
Palestinian security forces know the identity of the kidnappers of British reporter Alan Johnston, but are not going to use force to win his release, a Palestinian security chief said in an interview published Tuesday. Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh, meanwhile, said he is working "quietly but actively" to release the 44-year-old British Broadcasting Corp. correspondent. On Monday, Haniyeh's deputy, Azzam al-Ahmed, said the captors had called earlier in the day with new demands in exchange for his release. Johnston was seized March 12, making him the longest held foreign journalist in the increasingly lawless strip. A little known group claimed to have killed Johnston, but provided no evidence of their claim. Al-Ahmed said Monday the kidnappers said in their most recent phone call that Johnston is in good health.