Senior Israeli officials warned Thursday that the planned meeting between British Consul Richard Makepeace and Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh would lead to more kidnappings of foreigners. Makepeace and Haniyeh will meet to discuss kidnapped British reporter Alan Johnston, who was taken by armed men over three weeks ago and has not been heard from since.

The meeting will be the first between a senior British official and a member of the Hamas terrorist group, which Britain has boycotted in the past. While Britain claims that the meeting does not represent a change in policy, Israeli officials said, Hamas will see that it can achieve political gains by means of kidnapping. This will only lead to more foreigners being kidnapped as a political tactic, they warned.