Video Shows Johnston with Bomb Belt
There were intimations that today would be a fateful day for BBC’s Alan Johnston, with Hamas pledging to attempt to release him by force.
His captors, the Dughmush clan, are having none of it, and the Army of Islam reportedly released a video of Johnston wearing an explosives belt. AP reports:
Army of Islam later made the one minute and 42-second-long video available on a web site early Monday morning.
In the video, Johnston is wearing an apparent explosives belt of the type suicide bombers use and warning it will be detonated if an attempt is made to free him by force.
It opens with the title “Alan’s Appeal” in both English and Arabic and features the logo of the Army of Islam, a shadowy group that has claimed responsibility for snatching Johnston.
“Captors tell me that very promising negotiations were ruined when the Hamas movement and the British government decided to press for a military solution to this kidnapping,” Johnston says in the recording, looking nervous and stressed.
“And the situation is now very serious, as you can see.”
Johnston is seen wearing a red sweater with a blue and white checked vest strapped around his body – the apparent bomb belt.
“I have been dressed in what is an explosive belt, which the kidnappers say will be detonated if there is an attempt to storm the area,” he continues. “They say they are ready to turn the hide-out into what they describe as a death zone if there is an attempt to free me by force.”
More from SNAPSHOTS
Mahmoud Abbas’ Diatribe Threatening Israel Included Bogus Canaanite Claim
September 10, 2019
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’ recent anti-Israel diatribe that aired on PA TV was monitored and translated by Palestinian Media Watch (PMW). Excerpt: "I say to [Israel]: Every stone you have built on our land [...]
CNN Calls House’s Unifying Anti-BDS Vote ‘Divisive’
July 24, 2019
Yesterday, in an overwhelming vote of bipartisan support, the House of Representatives voted 398 to 17 to adopt a resolution opposing the anti-Israel BDS (boycott, divest, sanctions) campaign. Yet, CNN's headline casts the unifying vote [...]
NY Times Cites Poll, Hides Palestinian Support for Violence
July 9, 2019
The New York Times has struggled to accurately describe polls this year. In January, editor Jonathan Weisman misrepresented Pew polling data to describe a nonexistent surge in Israeli support for the United States under President [...]
CNN’s Zakaria Indulges Palestinian Propagandist Hanan Ashrawi
June 9, 2019
Fareed Zakaria’s weekly Cable News Network (CNN) program (grandiosely named “Global Public Square”) June 9 broadcast included a discussion of the current U.S. Middle East peace plan with guests Hanan Ashrawi (Palestinian Authority official) and [...]
In Robert Bernstein Obit, AFP Inappropriately References His Judaism
May 29, 2019
Robert Bernstein (Courtesy the New Press) In its obituary yesterday for American publisher Robert Bernstein, Agence France Presse inserted an inappropriate reference to the Human Rights Watch founder who later turned on the organization due [...]