JERUSALEM -- Hamas officials arrested a spokesman for the group that claims to have kidnapped BBC Gaza correspondent Alan Johnston nearly four months ago.
The arrest yesterday of Abu Khatab Maqdisi and two other men was believed to be an effort by Hamas to help force the release of Johnston, who was last seen dressed in an explosive belt in a video released June 25 by the group said to be holding him, the Army of Islam.
Maqdisi had said that Johnston, 45, would be killed if Hamas or anyone else tried to rescue him.
The group is part of the powerful Dagmoush clan and is believed to be led by an increasingly religious and radical member of the family, Mumtaz Dagmoush.
Hamas, which took over Gaza in a battle with Fatah, has promised to bring well-armed and autonomous clans, like the Dagmoush, under control. Gazans want more security on their streets and an end to the power of the armed clans and criminal gangs.
But threats from Hamas have made Johnston even more valuable to his kidnappers, who are said to fear that once he is released, they will be singled out by Hamas. One member of the family was killed in a gun battle 10 days ago and others have been arrested.
As retribution, the Army of Islam says it has seized Hamas-affiliated students and threatens to release unspecified "damaging information" about Hamas leaders.
Palestinian Authority officials and key Hamas leaders, like Mahmoud Zahar, have said that the religious rhetoric of the Army of Islam is a sham to cover a ransom demand of several million dollars.
Hamas faced further difficulties in Jerusalem, where the Israeli security agency, Shin Bet, announced that it had broken up over the last several months what it said was a Hamas "command center" in East Jerusalem.
Of the 11 Hamas members arrested, 10 had Israeli identity cards, which made it much easier for them to travel around Israel, the agency said. Hamas organizes religious and charity institutions that are also used to recruit members and sometimes armed fighters; Israel said it had also seized about $95,000 in cash during the arrest.
In the last 18 months, the agency said, more than $225,000 was transferred to Hamas in East Jerusalem from abroad through money-changers, charities and other organizations.
In Gaza, Sami Abu Zuhri, a spokesman for Hamas, denied any connection between the Jerusalem charities and Hamas, and said that those arrested are religious, not political, figures. "Israeli intelligence is attempting to make an illusory security victory," he said.
Zuhri also denied that Hamas had arrested the Army of Islam spokesman, Maqdisi, as part of any possible exchange for Johnston, but detained him after a gunfight.