World Spotlight: The Kidnappers' Code

Even in the volatile Gaza Strip, hostage taking had at least one firm rule. Journalists were released quickly, usually with tea and apologies. Those customs seem to have been thrown out with the case of respected BBC correspondent Alan Johnston, 44, grabbed by gunmen in Gaza on March 12. So far, it is not clear why the broadcast journalist was kidnapped. No demands have been forthcoming, only a harrowing and probably false communiqué from a group calling itself the Tawheed and Jihad Brigades, claiming that Johnston had been executed--revenge, it intimated, for the fate of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.

Johnston's captors are thought to be a clan with criminal as well as political connections, and the lawlessness of this kidnapping is another sign of anarchic times in Gaza. Hamas and Fatah are fighting for power, and random armed groups are filling the vacuum in unpredictable ways. Compare the silence from Johnston's captors to the more traditional dealings of those who have held Israeli Corporal Gilad Shalit since June. Earlier this month, they gave Israel a long list of prisoners they want in exchange for Shalit. The swap hasn't happened, but in light of Johnston's case, there was something reassuring about even the glimmer of a trade.