Missing Israeli Teens Found Dead In West Bank

Bodies of missing Israeli teens found

The bodies of three Israeli teenagers who were kidnapped this month have been found in the West Bank, a spokesman for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told CNN.
"All Israel tonight is united in mourning the three teens who were brutally murdered by the Hamas terrorists," Mark Regev said Monday.
He continued: "Hamas, I think, has shown us all once again what Hamas is all about -- it's a brutal terrorist organization that has no qualms whatsoever about targeting civilians, and in this case, in kidnapping and murdering children."

The Israeli military said it found three bodies northwest of Hebron and that the bodies are "going through forensic identification." The military also said it has informed the families of the three missing teens about the discovery.

The three teens -- Eyal Yifrach, 19; Gilad Shaar, 16; and Naftali Frenkel, a 16-year-old dual U.S.-Israeli citizen -- disappeared late June 12 or early June 13 from the Jewish settlement of Gush Etzion in the West Bank, according to the Israeli military.

"Although the identification has not been officially confirmed, I would like to send my support and condolences to the Shaar, Frenkel and Yifrach families," said Maj. Gen. Nitzan Alon with the Israel Defense Forces.

He vowed to pursue those responsible for the deaths.

"The war on terror continues. It didn't begin now and it will not be over soon," Alon told reporters.

"We will do whatever it takes to deter Hamas and other terrorists and we'll continue to fight terror using every legal means at our disposal."

Netanyahu called an emergency security Cabinet meeting about the issue Monday; an announcement from the Cabinet is expected shortly, according to the Israeli military.

Spokeman Regev said he didn't want to "prejudge" what the Cabinet will decide, but stressed that Israel will "continue to act against Hamas in order to protect our people."

"Hamas says every Israeli man, woman and child, every civilian, is a legitimate target for these sort of terrorist attacks so we're totally within our rights to protect ourselves against those Hamas terrorists who want to kill our people," he said.

When asked whether he holds the Palestinian Authority responsible in any way for the teens' deaths, Regev responded: "It's clear that the terrorists came from areas under Palestinian Authority control and returned to territories under Palestinian Authority control."

He urged Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to annul his pact with Hamas.

His comments were echoed by U.S. Reps. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Florida, chairman of the House Middle East and North Africa subcommittee; and Ted Deutch, D-Florida, ranking member of that subcommittee.

"We will continue to support the Government of Israel in its efforts to bring the perpetrators to justice, and we offer the people of Israel our deepest and most heartfelt condolences as we grieve with them. If it is determined that Hamas is behind this horrific tragedy, Abu Mazen must immediately break up the unity agreement between Fatah and Hamas, a U.S. designated foreign terrorist organization," they said in a staetment.

Abu Mazen is another name for Abbas, whose government now includes Hamas, which controls Gaza.

Last week, the Israel Security Agency said it believed that two "Hamas activists from Hebron" were behind the teens' disappearances.

As Israeli media were reporting on the bodies' discovery Monday night, Israeli forces were blocking roads into Hebron, a city in the southern West Bank.

Israeli security forces conducted an extensive search for the teens. Within days after their disappearance, soldiers had detained more than 150 Palestinian suspects. The military said Hamas leaders and operatives were among the suspects.

Netanyahu similarly blamed Hamas for the kidnappings. A Hamas spokesman said in the days after the abductions that the Prime Minister's comments attributing blame were "stupid and baseless."

Also in the days after the abductions, the mother of one of the teenagers spoke to reporters.

The three "were just on their way home," said Naftali's mother, Racheli Frankel. "We trust" that they "will be with us here, and we'll hug them soon."

She thanked the security forces for their efforts and the U.S. Embassy for its support. "We feel waves and waves of prayers and support and positive energy in this direction."

June 30, 2014