Freed BBC reporter visits West Bank

Freed British journalist Alan Johnston traveled to the West Bank on Thursday to thank Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and the Palestinian people for their support during the 16 weeks he spent in captivity in Gaza.

Hamas, Abbas' fierce political rivals who recently seized control of the Gaza Strip, pressured Johnston's captors to free him, and have pointed to the journalist's Wednesday release as proof their Islamic movement has legitimate rule.

Abbas frequently denounced the kidnapping but had no apparent role in Johnston's release. The British Broadcasting Corp. reporter's visit was seen as a courtesy call.

"I came to the West Bank to say thank you to the president for his support and also came to say thank you very much to the Palestinians, especially to the journalists in the West Bank," Johnston told reporters after meeting with Abbas in Ramallah, the seat of the emergency Cabinet the president installed after Hamas' Gaza takeover.

The Army of Islam, the group that claimed responsibility the kidnapping, said Thursday that Hamas let it to keep its weapons as part of the deal to free Johnston. The al-Qaida-inspired group said it would use the weapons for "jihad against the Jews, the crusaders and their supporters, the renegades," an apparent reference to forces loyal to Abbas' moderate Fatah movement.

Deposed Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas said there were no conditions for Johnston's release, but also told supporters, "We can't touch the guns of resistance or formations of resistance so long as these groups and these weapons are moving in the right direction."

Johnston, a Scottish native snatched from a Gaza City street on March 12, said he knew how much the Palestinians were working for his release because he had a radio during his solitary confinement, his only link to the outside world and a source of comfort.

He also said that once Hamas took control of Gaza he felt the tide turn in his favor.

Johnston, who reported from Gaza for the BBC for three years, has said he did not intend to return to the strip.

Abbas didn't address reporters after meeting Johnston, but confidant Saeb Erekat said Johnston's release ended "a scandalous chapter for the Palestinian people."

"There is no need to consider this as scoring political points," Erekat added _ a jab at Hamas' hopes to reap political dividends from Johnston's release.

The European Union, United States and Israel consider Hamas, which killed more than 250 Israelis in suicide bombings since 2000, to be a terrorist group.

Hamas says its success in winning Johnston's freedom proves it is a legitimate ruling force uniquely able to calm the chaotic coastal strip. Mostly, the group hopes it will prod the international community into easing a boycott due to its violently anti-Israel ideology.

Britain, the government that would be most indebted to Hamas because of the release, said that won't be in the cards unless Hamas renounces violence and recognizes Israel's right to exist.

"Policy in relation to Hamas hasn't changed, what we expect of them hasn't changed, but clearly we do acknowledge the crucial role they have played in this episode," Michael Ellam, a spokesman for British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, said Wednesday.

British Foreign Secretary David Miliband praised Abbas and Hamas leaders' roles in denouncing Johnston's kidnapping and securing his release.

"I fully acknowledge the crucial role they have played in securing this happy outcome," Miliband said. "And hundreds and thousands of ordinary Palestinians, especially in Gaza, campaigned tirelessly for Alan's safe release."

The French foreign minister, Bernard Kouchner, said Hamas' involvement in Johnston's release showed good will but would not change France's policy toward the Islamic militant group. Kouchner also said he doubted Hamas' role was purely positive.

"I don't know if they were not in charge of this man, in fact getting him in prison. I don't know," said Kouchner who was speaking in English.