He also noted that the BBC's only request was to have "some firm information" on Johnston. Deputy Director General of the BBC Mark Byford also called for people with influence to secure Johnston's release, while BBC staff in London held a rally in support of Johnston. RSF invited Arabic-language news media and bloggers to post banners on their websites that called for Johnston to be freed. RSF also noted that the "silence" surrounding Johnston's abduction was "particularly worrying". The Palestinian Journalists Union in Gaza observed a 24-hour strike on 20 March to protest against Johnston's abduction, and threatened to "escalate" its protests until Johnston was released. Foreign and local journalists in Ramallah, West Bank, had held a sit-in a day earlier, at which Barghouti again condemned the kidnapping. The BBC said it had received "assurances" about the well-being of Johnston, but repeated that it had "no firm knowledge" of his condition. It also thanked journalists who demonstrated in a show of support both in the Middle East and back in the UK. European Union foreign policy representative Javier Solana told the BBC on 20 March that the EU was doing all it could to try to establish Johnston's whereabouts. Solana added that the EU had been involved since the day of the kidnapping. British Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett told Parliament that London was also doing everything it could, and had brought the issue up with Mahmoud Abbas, saying that Abbas had given her assurances that finding Johnston was "very much" a goal of the Palestinian authorities. Journalists also protested in front of Abbas's office to demand that more be done to deal with the situation. Protests continued on 22 March, demanding more protection of journalists and more be done to prevent violation of press freedoms. Ahmed Abdel Rahman, advisor to Abbas for the PLO, told protesting journalists in Ramallah that there were "indications of an imminent release". Twelve days into Johnston's abduction, the Bishop of Lichfield Jonathan Gledhill asked churchgoers to pray for Johnston's release, saying that people were grateful for "brave journalists" like Johnston. More than 100 people held a rally for Johnston's release thirteen days into his captivity. Simon Wilson again urged those with influence to "work tirelessly" to obtain Johnston's freedom. On the day marking the second week since Johnston went missing, Gaza reporters held another strike in solidarity with Johnston. The beginning of Johnston's third week in captivity also lead RSF to press the Arab League to issue a new appeal for Johnston's release at an upcoming summit.