British Envoy to Meet Palestinian PM

A British envoy will meet Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas to discuss efforts to free an abducted journalist.

"This is just to discuss the kidnapping. It doesn't represent a change of policy," a British diplomat said about talks Consul-General Richard Makepeace planned with Haniyeh in Gaza on the March 12 abduction of the BBC's Alan Johnston.

It will be the first such meeting between a representative of the British government and a Hamas member of the new Palestinian unity government. The European Union considers Hamas to be a terrorist organisation.

Johnston, seized by gunmen while driving his car in Gaza, has been held captive longer than any other journalist in the coastal strip.

There has been no public word on his fate despite Palestinian government pledges to find him.

Israel has called on Western powers to maintain an international boycott of the Hamas-led unity government, which has rejected their demands to recognise the Jewish state, renounce violence and accept existing interim peace deals.

But the United States, breaking with Israel, has said it would hold unofficial contacts with non-Hamas ministers. Britain and some other European countries have taken a similar line.

"We requested the meeting to discuss the kidnapping. This is the first time we have met with Haniyeh," the diplomat said.

Western diplomats said there has been a general understanding since Hamas came to power in March 2006 that their no-contact policies could be relaxed in extreme cases such as kidnappings.