Palestinian journalists in Gaza began a three-day strike Monday to protest the kidnapping of a BBC journalist who has not been heard from in the past three weeks.

BBC correspondent Alan Johnston, seen here making an undated TV report, was abducted March 12.
(CBC)

Alan Johnston, 44, was kidnapped by masked gunmen as he returned to his apartment in Gaza City on March 12. Since then, there has been no word on his whereabouts, his condition, or the demands of his abductors.

About 300 journalists gathered Monday in Gaza and stood with their mouths gagged in solidarity with Johnston. The journalists say they will refuse to cover any activities of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas or the new unity government until Johnston is freed.

"We feel that the government and the presidency isn't taking this issue seriously," said Shuhdi Kashef, a leader in the 400-member journalists union.

It was the third strike organized by Palestinian journalists since Johnston's kidnapping, and reflected growing anxiety about his fate and the increasing lawlessness in the coastal strip where 1.4 million people live.

In addition to planning rallies, the Foreign Press Association has advised its members to "re-evaluate the necessity of travel to Gaza after the BBC provided it with "convincing evidence" that Palestinian militants are actively seeking to kidnap more foreigners.

Simon McGregor-Wood of the Foreign Press Association has advised members to 're-evaluate the necessity of travel to Gaza,' saying there is evidence of plans for further abductions.
(CBC)

"In the long term, it means less coverage from Gaza," the Foreign Press Association's Simon McGregor-Wood told the CBC's Peter Armstrong Monday during a rally in the West Bank city of Ramallah. "That's bad news for our professional commitment to the story and, I believe, very bad news for the people of Gaza."

Powerful clan suspected in abduction

Johnston was the only Western reporter permanently based in Gaza, where he has lived for three years. He was preparing to leave at the beginning of April.

A total of 11 journalists have been kidnapped in Gaza during the past three years. All have been released unharmed, usually within days of being captured.

None has been held as long as Johnston.

Journalists and aid workers also planned a march from a weeks-old solidarity tent set up in front of Gaza's parliamentary building toward Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh's office.

Speculation as to who forced Johnston from his car at gunpoint continues to focus on a large Gaza clan with criminal connections and a willingness to shift loyalties among Gaza's rival political and militant factions, the CBC's Margaret Evans reported Friday.

But security officials — both those loyal to Hamas and its rival Fatah — are reluctant to pursue it, fearful of antagonizing the heavily armed family, the Associated Press reported. 

Kidnapping is a common tactic in Gaza. Kidnappers typically demand money or jobs from the Palestinian Authority. They are rarely punished, which critics say has encouraged the kidnapping of foreigners as a lucrative enterprise with few drawbacks.

With files from the Associated Press