DID HAMAS KIDNAP BBC REPORTER BECAUSE HE WAS PRO-FATAH?

Useful Idiots: An Endangered Species, Part 2 (BackSpin)

Looks like the BBC didn't appreciate a recent column by the Wall Street Journal's Brett Stephens we blogged here. Stephens wondered if Beeb bias contributed to allowing Alan Johnston to remain in Gaza long after other western journalists left. Fran Unsworth responds on The Editors blog. But Tom Gross raises a variation of Stephens' theory:

Stephens's view, however, is widely accepted among reporters covering the Middle East, including myself. It is common knowledge that Johnston, who was abducted in Gaza on March 12, was one of the most pro-Palestinian reporters in the region. However, sources tell me that some in Hamas may have felt that his reporting had become too pro-Fatah, which is one possible factor in his abduction by a Hamas-connected group , and also a possible reason why (despite the BBC's repeated claims that the Hamas-led Palestinian Authority is doing everything in its power to secure Johnston's release) in fact the Palestinian Authority has been doing next to nothing to help release the kidnapped BBC man.

Don't miss our Top 10 List of Parties Who Might Gain From Johnston's Kidnap.