A joyous day brightens the gloom of the Middle East

I do apologise that posting here is so light of late, but I am - for the most part - taking the next two weeks off.

The great news from Gaza yesterday was the release of Alan Johnston. I felt for him as I watched him being dragged from pillar to post for photo-ops and was amazed to see how the professional journalist in him kicked in almost immediately, allowing him to remain detached and, as always taking the overview. I am sure when he is on his own the emotion will kick in and he will find himself at last being able to begin to offload the enormous emotional baggage that he must be carrying.

There is, of course, another story being told here and that is the story of Hamas in Gaza. The Independent summed it up best:

Yet there is another crucial element in this story, without which Mr Johnston might still be in captivity or the denouement rather different. Three months into his ordeal, the political context was transformed. Last month, after increasingly intense armed confrontations with the Fatah organisation, the Islamic militant group Hamas seized overall power in Gaza. In effect, they took by force the power they had won peacefully in elections, but had not been permitted to exercise.

What would happen to Mr Johnston was widely seen abroad as a first test for Hamas. With Fatah no longer disputing power in Gaza, did Hamas have sufficient authority to force his release? And if it did, would it use it? Mr Johnston's account of his release gives at least a partial answer.

Hamas does have the authority and it was prepared to use it, but it was not sufficient to secure the journalist's release at once. Hamas leaders had to do more than snap their fingers; they had to bargain with the kidnappers. Mr Johnston's edgy last journey as a captive was simultaneous testimony to Hamas's strength and weakness.

What is not known at this stage is what deal Hamas might have struck, and what concessions it might have made. Certain conclusions, though, can be hazarded. The fact that Hamas ordered Mr Johnston's release shows that it cares about how it is seen abroad. That it actually obtained his release shows that Hamas wields power that is real and might, given time, be just sufficient to bring order to Gaza's chaos. It also suggests that the division of the Palestinian Authority between Gaza and the West Bank could be more durable than Fatah would like, even if the West Bank receives the bulk of outside assistance.

I have no doubt that Bush and the Israelis have no regrets over their decision to fund what was, in effect, an Abbas private militia in Palestine. However, I feel sure that this morning Abbas is having second thoughts.

A Palestinian Authority and a future Palestinian state split into two warring factions and two separate mini-states suits the Israelis and their American sponsors perfectly.

Abbas may have unwittingly done Israel's dirty work for them. For the present situation certainly is not in the interest of the Palestinians.

As an aside, I looked for coverage of his release in both the New York Times and the Washington Post. I could fine none.

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