A FEARED and powerful clan leader in Gaza has emerged as the main suspect behind the kidnapping of Alan Johnston, the BBC reporter, in the Palestinian territory.

Security sources in Gaza believe Mumtaz Dagmoush may be using the British journalist – who was abducted almost three weeks ago – as a bargaining chip to settle a factional feud.

According to one theory, Johnston is likely to be released only if up to 10 Hamas gunmen linked to the killings of two Dagmoush family members are handed over to face justice.

The Dagmoush clan is one of the most influential and heavily armed in Gaza and has members in both Fatah and Hamas, the main political parties.

Its leader is a key player in organised crime, including weapons smuggling, and is thought to have orchestrated the abduction of at least three westerners in the past, including two Fox News staff and a Peruvian photographer.

Johnston, 44, from Argyllshire in Scotland, has now been held for longer than any other foreign journalist in the region, after being snatched from his car at gunpoint on March 12.

No organisation has publicly claimed responsibility for the kidnapping and no demands have been made of the BBC, which is the only western media outlet to retain a permanent correspondent in Gaza. A financial motive, however, has not been ruled out.

The BBC has been relying on local intermediaries, including Palestinian Authority officials, to track down Johnston and secure his release. Although it has been assured by the authority that the reporter is safe, it has had no direct contact with the Dagmoush clan. A Palestinian security official confirmed its leader was the prime suspect.

One BBC executive said Dagmoush had been identified to the corporation by the Palestinian Authority, adding: “There are various potential motives floating around.

“It’s a very complicated situation in Gaza at the moment. The political process is at a very delicate stage with this new government.”

Tomorrow the Foreign Press Association is expected to mark the end of Johnston’s third week in captivity with a demonstration in Ramallah in the West Bank.

Palestinian journalists in Gaza have already staged two 24-hour strikes in protest at the kidnapping, urging Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president, and Ismail Haniyeh, the Hamas prime minister, to resolve the hostage crisis.

Johnston joined the BBC World Service in 1991 and reported from Afghanistan when it was ruled by the Taliban. He was due to end his three-year posting in Gaza this week.

The unmarried reporter had returned to the Gaza Strip from Jerusalem on the day of the kidnapping and was driving to his home from the BBC office in Gaza City when he was set upon by masked gunmen. His business cards were found near his abandoned hire car.

Violence between Fatah and Hamas forces in recent months has increased the power of warring clans and criminal gangs, leading to a string of foreigners being kidnapped. Many abductions have been carried out by groups demanding jobs or other benefits from the Palestinian Authority.

Dagmoush’s name has been linked to the kidnapping last year of two Fox News journalists, who were released after a fortnight, and the abduction of Jaime Razuri, a Peruvian photographer with Agence France-Presse, who was freed a week after his capture on January 1.

Unconfirmed reports claim that Mumtaz Dagmoush is also behind a group called the Army of God, which may have been involved in the kidnapping last June of Gilad Shalit, an Israeli soldier who is still being held.

The Dagmoush feud with Hamas was triggered last December when two of the clan’s pro-Fatah members, serving as policemen loyal to Abbas, were shot dead by members of a rival security force. The murders led to a renewed bout of unrest on the streets of Gaza.

Experts suggest that if Johnston is in Dagmoush hands he could be freed if Hamas gives up these killers. “They may be looking for a direct trade-off,” said a security source.

Johnston’s father Graham has previously described his son as “friend of the Palestinian people”.

“He was enjoying the job immensely, he had made friends with many Palestinians, although he did warn us that there was a possibility of being abducted, it went with the territory,” he said.

“This holding Alan is not doing the Palestinian people any favours, quite the opposite.”

Speaking from the BBC’s Middle East bureau, Jonathan Baker, the deputy head of news gathering, said: “Alan has now been missing for longer than anybody else in any previous hostage situation there, which obviously makes us increasingly worried for his wellbeing and safety.

“We are doing everything we can and we think everybody else is doing everything they can to bring about his safe return, and we hope that that will happen very soon.”

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