Some of the best known names in British and international journalism have joined in an appeal to demand the release of BBC reporter Alan Johnston, who is believed to have been abducted in Gaza three weeks ago.
Trevor McDonald, Jeremy Paxman, David Frost, Jon Snow, CNN's Chief International Correspondent Christiane Amanpour and Wadah Khanfar, Editor-in-Chief of the Arabic TV network Al Jazeera, are among 300 people who gave their names to the plea.
It was made in a full-page advert in today's Guardian newspaper.
Meanwhile, Palestinian journalists are due to start a three-day boycott of covering the activities of the presidency or the new unity government, in a move aimed at pressuring the Palestinian authorities to do more to secure Mr Johnston's release.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and the Islamist movement Hamas, the majority party in the new unity government, have both condemned the abduction and pledged to work for the reporter's release.
Since his apparent abduction, there has been no word on the whereabouts of Mr Johnston. He is the British broadcaster's main correspondent in Gaza for the past three years and one of the few Western correspondents to be permanently based in the territory.
His was the latest in a spate of kidnappings that has seen around 20 foreigners seized over the past year.
Foreign hostages are normally used as bargaining chips to gain concessions from the Palestinian Authority, and so far all have been released unharmed.
