Fully five days after the abduction of BBC correspondent Alan Johnston in Gaza, the news of his kidnapping is seeping out, now that a more shocking attempted kidnapping in Gaza has cast the international spotlight in that direction.
Following are the headlines yielded by a search of “Alan Johnston” on Google News at 12:30 p.m.

Click on the first link and you will be taken to a chilling story, posted on the BBC’s site today, that was written by Johnston himself just over a year ago (about gangsterism [my word] among “bands of militants” [Johnston's words] in Gaza):

Alan Johnston on the front line
BBC News, UK - 4 hours ago
Palestinian security services are still searching for the BBC correspondent Alan Johnston who was kidnapped on Monday by unidentified gunmen in Gaza. …
Rally for missing BBC journalist BBC News
No Sign Of BBC Reporter, Alan Johnston Post Chronicle
No sign of BBC reporter Earthtimes.org
United Press International
all 37 news articles »

Security officials looking into possible Al-Qaida link to attack …
International Herald Tribune, France - 32 minutes ago
“We still fear for Alan’s welfare.” Johnston’s kidnapping was somewhat unusual, since most foreigners seized in Gaza are freed after a few hours.
Irish UN official escapes kidnap attempt in Gaza Unison.ie (subscription)
all 106 news articles »

The AP story published in the IHT broadcasts the fear of involvement by al Qaeda in the failed kidnapping of the UN official:

Palestinian security officials are looking into a possible al-Qaida link to the attack, said a security official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to speak to the media. The official did not provide evidence for such a suspicion, saying only that “we are looking into all possibilities.”

Palestinian officials have been worried about al-Qaida activity in the Palestinian territories ever since Ayman al-Zawahri, the No. 2 in al-Qaida, accused Hamas last week of selling out by accepting a power-sharing deal with the Fatah Party of moderate Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

Brave words from UNRWA head John Ging follow:

Ging said in a telephone interview Saturday that he is concerned about the safety of U.N. workers in Gaza, but that he and his staff will not leave.

“We will not be driven out by a bunch of gunmen,” he said, adding that he has received assurances from Palestinian security officials that the attackers would be tracked down.

The word nevertheless should have preceded the following sentence in the Times story. Thus:

[Nevertheless, t]he attack on the clearly marked U.N. convoy marked a watershed, even in lawless Gaza where scores of foreigners have been kidnapped in recent months. [e.a.]

The AP mentions Johnston, but just barely:

Earlier Saturday, several dozen journalists staged a protest outside the Palestinian parliament in Gaza City, calling for the release of BBC reporter Alan Johnston who was kidnapped Monday. No group has come forward with ransom demands.

Paul Greeves, a BBC staffer from London, participated in the protest. “Clearly, we are still very concerned,” he said. “We still fear for Alan’s welfare.”

The BBC itself covers Johnston’s kidnapping today. Leading with an account of a journalists’ rally (consisting of 20 protesters) held in Gaza City on Johnston’s behalf, the Beeb reports:

[BBC Mideast bureau chief] Wilson thanked the Palestinian journalists for their support for Johnston and spoke of the high regard in which they hold him.

“It is clear to us that in Gaza, Alan is regarded as a Gaza journalist foremost and a foreign journalist second.”

He again called on anyone with information that could help resolve the situation to come forward.

Reports earlier in the week said Johnston was in good health.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Ismail Haniya are those who have called for Johnston’s return.

There has been a series of abductions of Westerners in the Gaza Strip where law and order has been a growing problem.

All were eventually released unharmed. [e.a.]

Masters of understatement, those Brits. There’s only one problem. Subtlety doesn’t work in the present era. The politics of the day are such that if you’ve got something to say, you gotta say it out loud.

So when you click on Google News without doing a search, the top story is this—a complete whitewash of reality on the ground in the gang-infested Palestinian territories, yet another mirage:

Palestinian unity government takes office
Reuters Canada - 27 minutes ago
By Nidal al-Mughrabi. GAZA (Reuters) - A Palestinian unity government rejected by Israel as a peace partner took office on Saturday, pairing Islamist Hamas and secular Fatah in a coalition they hope can end factional violence and painful foreign …
FACTBOX-What’s next for new Palestinian government Reuters AlertNet
Palestinian Legislature Ratifies Unity Government New York Times
Voice of America - Playfuls.com - Ha’aretz - Washington Post
all 1,528 news articles »

I’m sure Alan Johnston, where ever he is, is celebrating this great day for Hamas and Fatah.

You will start to hear more about the abduction of BBC correspondent Alan Johnston in Gaza very soon—ironically, only because that actual kidnapping has been surpassed by the (apparently) much more shocking failed kidnapping in Gaza.

First the headlines from Google News.

Gunmen ambush UN convoy in Gaza in bid to abduct agency chief
Independent, UK - 5 hours ago
… Relief and Works Agency Gaza field office, was travelling came five days after the kidnap at gunpoint of the BBC correspondent in Gaza, Alan Johnston. …
Gunmen attempt to kidnap UN refugee mission chief in Gaza Ha’aretz
Gaza Gunmen Fire on UN Car in Possible Kidnapping Try New York Times
UN man escapes Gaza kidnap bid Guardian Unlimited
all 88 news articles »

AlaskaReport

New ‘unity’ cabinet may end Palestinian blockade Belfast Telegraph, UK - 17 hours ago On the kidnap last Monday of the BBC correspondent in Gaza, Alan Johnston, Mr Haniyeh said that he and Mr Abbas had “given instructions to all security … Vote due on Palestinian Cabinet BBC News all 1,222 news articles »

And now here’s some detail from the NYT’s Steven Erlanger, who finally has a reason to delve into the few known details of the Johnston kidnapping—but first the shocking new developments that will push this story into the news cycle:

In an apparent kidnapping attempt, Palestinian gunmen on Friday fired 14 bullets into the armored car of the Gaza director of the United Nations refugee agency.

The official, John Ging, was returning to Gaza from Israel through the Erez checkpoint in a white armored car that was clearly marked with United Nations insignia and a U.N. flag, and was surrounded by two other U.N. cars. …

“This is unprecedented, to shoot at a clearly marked U.N. vehicle with a U.N. flag flying in broad daylight,” Mr. Ging said. “It’s a very serious, shocking development, and we’re still considering how to deal with this.”

The UN is the greatest contributor to the welfare of millions of needy Palestinians. Assaulting your protector isn’t such a hot idea, of course. This is … hideous. The Palestinian territories are out of control.

Erlanger says nothing is known officially about the fate of Johnston, but he feels free now to credit one of the theories:

Palestinian leaders have called for his release but have said little about him, and the BBC has also provided few details.

But Palestinian security officials in Gaza suggest that Mumtaz Dagmoush, a militant leader of a large clan in northern Gaza, is behind the kidnapping. Mr. Dagmoush was behind the kidnapping of two Fox News correspondents last summer; they were held for two weeks.

Mr. Dagmoush is in a battle with Hamas, demanding revenge for the shooting of two Dagmoush clan members by Hamas members of the Executive Force, a parallel police force in Gaza. Palestinian security officials said Mr. Dagmoush is demanding that more than 10 Hamas men be handed over to him or to the courts before Mr. Johnston is released.

Hmmm, I thought. Dagmoush. Where have I seen that name before? Was it on Debka?

No. Debka refers to [e.a.] “the brothers Mumtaz and Muetaz Durmush [and, later in the same story, "Durmishes" --ed.] Different name. Plus: Debka specifically calls them “al Qaeda.”

Huh?

Mumtaz Dagmoush (a “militant leader of a large clan,” NYT)

Mumtaz Durmush. (”an al Qaeda group,” Debka)

Google. Curiously, there are lots of hits for Mumtaz Durmush (and only one for Dagmoush).

Durmush is a known kidnapper, according to Omedia:

The Durmush Clan—a Key to the Shalit Affair

Let it be known that the “Durmush Clan” was also recently involved in the kidnapping of two correspondents from the American television channel Fox News, who were liberated in the end in return for a ransom payment of about $ 1 million, which was transferred via the Hamas government. In any case, amongst informed circles in the Gaza Strip, the general assessment is that Durmush and his people tend to camouflage themselves behind various organizational noms de guerre such as “the Islamic Army”, “Palestine Al Qaeda”, “the Sacred Jihad Brigade” as well as the “Muslim Swords Brigades of Fatah”. This sounds like local media hype, to give an aura of power to a most esoteric gang, which presumably relies on the link to global Al Qaeda.

It’s too late to delve any further into his political affiliations, if any. Maybe tomorrow, if I have time.

Meanwhile, here are a few questions for the New York Times:

What’s the guy’s name—Dagmoush or Durmush? is he a “militant”? does he claim to be al Qaeda? what gives?