GAZA, June 24 (Reuters) - Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh said on Sunday that the kidnappers of BBC correspondent Alan Johnston have made a new video of the abducted journalist wearing what appeared to be explosives around his waist. Haniyeh, prime minister of the Hamas-led government sacked by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas of Fatah, disclosed the video of Johnston in his first major speech since Hamas seized control of the Gaza Strip just over a week ago. "In the past they showed him in an orange uniform. Today they showed him with an explosives belt round his waist," Haniyeh said. A Palestinian source close to the negotiations confirmed the existence of a new tape showing Johnston wearing an explosives belt. The tape has not been aired publicly but the contents were shared with Haniyeh. Johnston, 45, went missing in Gaza on March 12 and is believed to be being held by the Army of Islam, a little known group that appears to draw inspiration from al Qaeda but also seems to be linked to violent clan rivalries among Gaza's 1.5 million people. The only other known video of Johnston, released on June 1, showed him wearing a baggy red sweater. He said in that tape that he was in good health and being treated well. Hamas officials in the Gaza Strip said they were pressing the kidnappers to free Johnston. "We will not allow the continuation of the abduction of the British journalist. The issue of Alan Johnston must end," Haniyeh said on Sunday. Haniyeh said his government has not used force to free Johnston at the request of the British government, fearing he might be killed or injured in the process. The Army of Islam has demanded that Britain free Muslim prisoners, particularly Islamist cleric Abu Qatada. A man identified as a spokesman for the group recently told Al Jazeera television that it might kill the British journalist. The Scotsman is the only Western correspondent based full-time in the Gaza Strip, where a year-old economic embargo and fighting among militants have worsened living conditions.
