Hamas acts to show it's in charge

His kidnappers, headed by a man known as Abu Khaled, were "often rude and unpleasant," he said. They "did threaten my life a number of times in various ways," Johnston said.

Johnston described his captors as a small "jihadi" group focused less on the Palestinian conflict with Israel than on "getting a knife into Britain in some way," he said. In exchange for Johnston, the Army of Islam had originally demanded that Britain free a radical Islamic cleric with ties to Al Qaeda.

Although foreigners have been kidnapped before in Gaza, they have been held for relatively brief periods and the abductors' demands usually focused on money and jobs. By contrast, the demands of "The Army of Islam" to release Muslim hostages in Britain and a videotaped message of Johnston in an explosive-laden belt were chilling suggestions of the influence of Al Qaeda.

But with Gaza caught in a power struggle between Hamas and Fatah, Palestinian security forces avoided moving against the influential clan – a family with militias of its own and a history of alliances with both political parties.

Since their violent takeover of Gaza from security forces loyal to President Abbas's Fatah Party, the Islamic militants have tried to consolidate their grip over Gaza by rounding up weapons held by the myriad armed groups that operate in Gaza. Residents have said that Hamas has eliminated random bursts of gunfire and restored a sense of safety.

The Dagmush clan was able to resist Hamas's show of force because it held Johnston hostage. But a tit-for-tat series of kidnappings between Hamas and the clan signaled that the standoff was escalating toward a conclusion. "We were expecting a big battle and a lot of blood. I was expecting to wake up and to find 20 or 30 people to be killed,'' said Hamada Abu Qamar, a Gaza resident who worked with Johnston at the BBC bureau. "Thank God. This is an unbelievable movement for [Alan] and everyone in Gaza."

Though Hamas ultimately resorted to the mediation of a Muslim cleric who issued a religious fatwa to pave the way for the release, the siege of the Hamas gunmen around Johnston's location is believed to have pressured the family into striking a deal.

Analysts said that the Dagmush family had previously been helped by groups within the Fatah-run Palestinian security services. Hamas's rout of Fatah three weeks ago left the clan isolated.

"The Dagmush family was playing on the divisions between Hamas and Fatah. Now Hamas is the only player around," says Omar Shaban, a former economic consultant to the Palestinian Authority in Gaza. "This is a message to other families, that nobody in Gaza can challenge them."

While Abbas welcomed Johnston's release, a spokesman for the rival Palestinian government in the West Bank accused Hamas of protecting Johnston's captors for months. The same Gaza clan is believed to have helped in the kidnapping of Israeli Cpl. Gilad Shalit more than a year ago, in cooperation of Hamas. Haniyeh said Hamas was interested in ending Mr. Shalit's captivity through an "honorable" prisoner-exchange deal.

• Associated Press material was used.

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