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2014 Gush Etzion kidnapping and murder

January 01, 1970

31°39′17″N 35°07′20″E / 31.6547°N 35.1223°E / 31.6547; 35.1223

2014 kidnapping and murder of Israeli teenagers
Eyal Yifrach, Gilad Shaar, Naftali Fraenkel
Date12 June 2014 (2014-06-12)
Timec. 22:00 IDT (UTC+03:00)
LocationGush Etzion, West Bank
OutcomeThe three kidnapped teenagers were murdered and their bodies found on 30 June.
DeathsNaftali Fraenkel, 16, from Nof Ayalon
Gilad Shaer, 16, from Talmon
Eyal Yifrah, 19, from El'ad
Suspects2 Hamas members from Hebron: Marwan Qawasmeh (29) and Amar Abu-Isa/Amer Abu Aysha (32)[1][2]

The 2014 Gush Etzion kidnapping and murder refers to the abduction and killing of three Israeli teenagers in the West Bank during June 2014. The victims, Eyal Yifrach, Gilad Shaer, and Naftali Fraenkel, were Israeli students aged 16 and 19. On the evening of 12 June 2014, the three teenagers were hitchhiking in the Alon Shvut settlement in Gush Etzion, in the West Bank when they were abducted.

The Israel Defense Forces immediately initiated Operation Brother's Keeper (Hebrew: מבצע שובו אחים, romanized: Mivtza Shuvu Ahim) in search of the three teenagers. On 30 June, their bodies were found in a shallow grave near the town of Halhul. Israeli authorities accused two members of the Palestinian militant group Hamas, Marwan Qawasmeh and Amer Abu Aisha, of carrying out the abduction and murder. As part of the operation, Israel arrested around 350 Palestinians, including nearly all of Hamas' West Bank leaders. The suspects were killed during a standoff with Israeli security forces on 23 September 2014, leading to the end of the operation.

The incident gained significant international attention and escalated tensions between Israelis and Palestinians, leading to an increase in violence and retaliatory actions and eventually triggering the 2014 Gaza War.

Background

2013 was a calm period with the November 2012 ceasefire being largely respected, despite 50 rockets fired by Palestinians and 10 airstrikes by Israel.[3] According to PCHR 44 Palestinians were killed and over 100 injured,[4] while the Israeli Security Agency reported six Israeli fatalities (all but one from the West Bank) and 44 injuries.[5] The first half of 2014 saw an increase in tension manifested by a higher rate of injuries. Among Palestinians there were 43 fatalities in the first half of the year plus 1860 injuries.[6] Tension was also increased by Israel's opposition to the formation of a Hamas-Fatah unity government, with threats of sanctions[7] and the burgeoning issue of prisoners and the violation of the Shalit agreement[8][9][10] Mutual attacks on each other by Israel and Gaza continued, as did the Israeli blockade of Gaza.[11]

Mainstream western media ascribe the initiation of the major 2014 conflict to the kidnapping of the three Israeli teenagers.[12] Some news analysts believe that earlier clashes might also have played a role in the chain of events. On 15 May, two Palestinian teenagers were shot dead during the Nakba commemorations in the Beitunia killings. An autopsy report published on 9 June proved the death of one of them to be due to "live fire,” i.e. not "rubber bullets."[13][14][15][16][17][18][19]

The Israeli Foreign Ministry web site emphasized rocket fire from Gaza as being the reason for the IDF mission into Gaza.[20][21]

Victims

Eyal Yifrach, 19, lived in El'ad,[citation needed] Naftali Fraenkel (also spelled Frenkel), 16, was a dual Israeli-American citizen and lived in Nof Ayalon.[citation needed] Gilad Shaer was a resident of the Israeli settlement of Talmon.[citation needed] Eyal Yifrah was a student at the Shavei Hevron Yeshiva [he] on King David Street in Hebron.[22] The other two were students of the Mekor Chaim yeshiva at Kfar Etzion in the West Bank's Area C under full Israeli administration.[23][24]

Suspects

Initial suspected perpetrators

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that Hamas killed the teenagers.[25] But opinions were divided within Israel's security services as to whether or not the two suspects had direct ties to Hamas.[26] On 26 June, the Israel Security Agency identified two Hamas members as key suspects in the kidnapping, whom Palestinian police noted, had gone missing since the night of the kidnapping.[1][27][28] High-ranking members of Hamas denied that the group had any involvement or foreknowledge of the incident.[29] The two named suspects hail from the Qawasameh clan, notorious for consistently acting against Hamas's policies.[30] Hamas political chief Khaled Meshal said he could neither confirm nor deny the kidnapping of the three Israelis, and he congratulated the abductors, because "our prisoners must be freed from the prisons of the occupation."[31]

Initially a number of groups, some previously unknown, claimed responsibility for the kidnappings: The Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades (subsequently denied);[32] a West Bank Branch of Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant, Brigades of Global Jihad, Ahrar ar-Khalil (Liberators Battalion of Hebron), and Regiments of Hezbollah.[33][34] It was not clear how true their claims were, and the middle three were not considered credible.[35]

Suspects arrested

After the kidnap of the Israeli teens, Israel commenced Operation Brother's Keeper in the West Bank. Israel killed 9 Palestinians and raided 1300 properties including commercial and residential buildings. 800 Palestinians were arrested without immediate charge or trial.[36] On 5 August 2014 Israel announced that Israeli security forces arrested Hussam Kawasme, in Shuafat, in connection with the murders.[37] During interrogation, Kawasme admitted to being the mastermind behind the attack, in addition to securing the funding from Hamas.[38] Kawasme stated that after the boys were killed, Marwan Kawasme and Amer Abu Aysha drove to his house, where the three proceeded to bury the victims in Halhoul, the land Kawasme purchased only a few weeks prior.[39]

By the time of his arrest, Kaswasme had shaved his beard and received a fake passport, in what was believed to be part of a plan to escape to Jordan.[40]

Officials stated that additional people arrested in connection with the murders were still being held, but no names were initially released.[41]

On 20 August, Hamas member Saleh al-Arouri, who lived in Turkey, claimed Hamas's involvement in the abduction and murder, according to an Israeli Channel 2 translation. He continued to describe the perpetrators as heroic.[42] Hugh Lovatt of the European Council on Foreign Relations labeled al-Arouri's claim was "suspicious", saying it might have reflected a desire to assert his relevance within the Hamas leadership or, alternatively, was accurate, reflecting a power struggle within Hamas itself.[43] On 21 August Hamas leader Khaled Mashal claimed Hamas leadership had no prior knowledge of the abductions and murders and had learned about them through the Israeli military.[44]

The following day, NGO Shurat HaDin contacted US Attorney General Eric Holder to request extradition of al-Arouri. Although Turkey and Israel do not have an extradition agreement, the US and Turkey do, which it can use to extradite those who commit terrorist acts against US citizens.[45]

Suspects killed

The two suspects, Marwan Kawasme and Amar Abu Aysha, were staying in a house in Hebron, when IDF soldiers and Israeli counter-terrorism Yamam members surrounded the building at dawn on 23 September, in an attempt to arrest the suspects. Israeli forces opened fire on the building and reportedly called on the two suspects to come out. With no response the Israeli force began using a bulldozer to bring down the building. According to Israeli forces, one of the suspects partially rose out of a hole and began firing a rifle, whereupon Israeli forces shot him. After this suspect fell back into the home, likely dead, Israeli forces again opened fire on the house, utilizing grenades and other explosives this time, after which both men were confirmed deceased.[46][47]

Both Hebron governor Kamel Hmeid and Hamas spokesman Salah Bardawil described the suspects as martyrs, with the latter belatedly insinuating that Hamas had in fact been responsible for the kidnap and murder of the three Israeli teens.[48][49] Hamas leader Khaled Mashal also called the suspects "martyrs" and "heroes."[50]

Investigation conclusion

The investigation concluded that the kidnapping operation's costs ran to NIS220,000, a sum procured by Hossam Hassan Kawasmeh (40), with the assistance of his brother, Mahmoud, who was exiled to the Gaza Strip in the Gilad Shalit exchange in November 2011, to purchase the two vehicles and weaponry. The cars were purchased from Nuh Abu-Eisha, and the weapons from Hamas operative Adnan Mahmad Izzat Zru (34), both Hebronites. Hossam Kawasmeh's attempt to escape to Jordan, thwarted when he was arrested in the Shuafat refugee camp on 11 July, was assisted by his relatives Hisham Kawasmeh (45) and Jamil Kawasmeh (38), as well as Hassan Kawasmeh (45), a Hamas militant. Two other Hebronites, Ahmad Ibrahim Mahmad Kawasmeh (64) and his brother, senior Hamas operative Arafat Ibrahim Mahmad Kawasmeh (50), were involved in helping the perpetrators go into hiding, the latter concealing them on his property.[51] On 6 January 2015, Hussam Qawasmeh was sentenced to three life terms in prison for the murders, along with being assessed a compensation payment of $63,000 to the victims' families.[52]

Sequence of events

Prelude

According to Israeli investigations, the seizure and killing of the three was organized by Hussam Qawasmeh, who had received $39,000 from his brother Mahmoud in Gaza, via a go-between still at large. The money financed the purchase of three M-16 rifles, a jeep, and the Israeli car, which was bought from a used-car dealer in Hebron after it was stolen from the settlement of Tzur Hadassah.[53] Altogether, he met with Marwan five or six times before the kidnapping. The plan was to conceal one kidnapped Israeli in Marwan Qawasme's barbershop in Hebron, then transfer him to Marwan's aunt's vacant house. A first attempt on 10 June failed to find any hitchhikers.[53] There was no intention to release the boys: from the outset the plan, considered amateurish and not professional, envisaged murdering the captives. The plot of land where they were buried had been purchased to that end some time earlier, and a refuge to escape detection had been prepared in an old house near Tufah where the two suspects hid in a disused cesspit for five days.[54]

Week 1 (12–19 June)

Netanyahu asserted that the attack originated from PA-controlled areas, and criticized the Fatah-Hamas pact.[55]

In the first week, Israel added a further three to the six combat brigades already present in the West Bank.[56] Close to 40 battalions were engaged in rounding up suspects,[57] notably the Paratroopers' 35th Division and the Kfir's 900th Division.[58] Other specialized groups, such as the Duvdevan Unit,[59] the Egoz Reconnaissance Unit and the Airborne Rescue And Evacuation Unit 669[57] supplement the search force.[57] Skylark mini UAV drones were deployed, and the Yahalom combat engineering unit conducted tunnel searches.[60] Fifty Bedouin IDF trackers were also used.[35]

Day 1

Late into the night of Thursday, 12 June, teenagers Yifrach, Fraenkel, and Shaer were waiting at Geva'ot Intersection, west of the settlement of Alon Shvut in the Etzion Bloc south of Jerusalem, soon after 22:15, looking to catch a ride heading west on Route 367 toward Beit Shemesh and from there to locations in central Israel where each of them lived. The kidnappers intended to kidnap one Israeli. Apparently Yifrach, after accepting a ride, waved to the other two to join him. The Palestinians, afraid of giving their identity away if they spoke Hebrew, didn't dare object.[53] After the car veered off from the declared direction of Ashkelon, the three realized they had been kidnapped. Shaer then telephoned the police at 22:25, whispering, "I've been kidnapped."[53][61] Eight attempts were made to page the caller's cellphone, without checking its ownership, and his whispered remark was taken to be one of a number of pranks made that night. No check was made to find out the phone's owner, nor whether he was missing. Within days, Israeli investigators, though lacking conclusive proof, strongly suspected the teenagers had been killed, and, if so, knew where the victims' bodies would probably have been dumped.[62][63] Subsequent analysis of the tape revealed what the police failed to realize at the time, that the murders had occurred while the hotline operator had been listening.[53][64][65]

Four and a half hours passed before Shaer's family finally phoned the Talmon security coordinator at 3:10 am to inform him their son Gil-Ad had not returned home. Only then did the security establishment take the case seriously, and Shin Bet and the IDF were alerted by the police.[66][67] According to the Palestinian Ma'an News Agency, the army succeeded in tracing the call to the Sanjar region, the last cellphone signal being made at 23:20 in the Hebron area, when Fraenkel's and Shaer's cellphones had been switched off.[53][68][69] Meanwhile, at 1 a.m. on Friday morning, Marwan knocked on Hussam's door and said, "I've murdered three Jews."[53]

A gag order regarding the abduction was immediately placed on Israeli news services. The presumed identities of the kidnappers, acolytes of senior Hamas members, were known almost from the beginning to everyone in Hebron, but kept from the Israeli public;[70][71] in lieu of concrete details, rumours proliferated.[72] Controversy soon raged in Israel over the police delay in reporting the call.[73] At 11:00 on 13 June, a "Hannibal" alert (meaning 'kidnapping') was issued.[citation needed]

Based on cellphone and other data, Israeli investigators deduced that the kidnappers' car had stopped near Beit Kahil, west of Halhul, for 28 minutes.[53] According to Palestinian security sources, a Hyundai i35, with seating for 5,[74] with Israeli license plates, was torched on the night of 12 June, and subsequently found by Palestinian police 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) from the village of Beit Einun near Hebron.[23][75] This vehicle was believed to be connected to the abduction.[24][68] Suspicion arose that the use of the car displaying Israeli license plates was a trick to lull the hitchhikers into believing the vehicle was driven by Israelis.[23] Israeli authorities had placed the emergency call recording under a gag order, but it was leaked to the public, after which the gag order was partially lifted.[76] It then emerged that after Gilad Shaer's whispered message "They kidnapped me," the taped emergency call also recorded a cry ("heads down!"), sounds of shouting, a volley of automatic fire, a weak voice sighing "Ai," silence, another volley of automatic fire and then singing.[76][77] The burnt car discovered that morning yielded evidence of numerous blood-stains. Israeli police assumed correctly that bodies must have been buried in that vicinity. What they did not know was that the bodies had been taken from the provisional burial site and reburied 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) beyond the radius of research.[53] Notwithstanding this, the Israeli authorities began to broadcast the message that the boys were abducted, not that they had been murdered.[77][78][79]

Days 2–3

On 14–15 June, the Hebron and South Hebron Hills areas were the focus of investigations by a large number of troops. Soldiers numbering 2,500[80] together with security agents, police, and special forces,[24] engaged in a manhunt, scouring numerous villages, including Beit Ummar,[81] Beit Einun,[75] Halhul, Dura, as-Samu, Tarqumiyah, Beit Kahil,[82] Yatta,[83] Taffuh,[84][85] and Tapuah[86] in what the IDF termed 'Operation Shuvu Achim (Return, Brothers/Bring Back Our Brothers),'[80] and referred to in English as 'Brother's Keeper'.[87] An anonymous "security source" claimed that little resistance was encountered because the local populations have become accustomed in recent years to regular night raids by the IDF.[88] The sound of rubber-coated bullets and tear-gas canisters were heard.[75]

 
IDF troops entering a building to search on 15 June.
 
Weapons found during Operation Brother's Keeper in Nablus

Over the weekend, Israeli security forces also arrested around 80 Palestinians, among them senior members of Hamas, accused of being connected to the kidnapping,[89][29] in a sweep that rounded up former government leaders, clerics, university lecturers, and militants of both Hamas and Islamic Jihad across the West Bank.[90] In Hebron's Ein Deir Baha neighborhood Israeli forces broke down a door, apparently by firing a missile, after surrounding the house of Akram al-Qawasami.[91][92] He, his 8-year-old son Muhammad and younger daughter Sujoud were injured by shrapnel, and two Hamas operatives, among them Zaid Akram al-Qawasami, were arrested inside.[91][92] The military also fully closed the Hebron area and Gaza crossings, only allowing passage for humanitarian cases.[29]

On Sunday, Netanyahu said what he had only hinted at previously, that Israel "knew for a fact" that the abduction had been carried out by Hamas,[93] a position the IDF had avoided explicitly stating.[67] He did, however, not provide any evidence.[94] Security officials remained more cautious, tending to accept the probability that a Hebronite Hamas cell was involved, but uncertain whether it was a local initiative to secure prisoner releases or an operation approved by the Hamas leadership in Gaza.[66] A remark by Moshe Ya'alon about the "very heavy price" Hamas leaders might pay was interpreted by one journalist as hinting Israel might be mulling the option of resuming its campaign of targeted killings, this time against the Hamas leadership.[64] Israel's Deputy Minister of Defense, Danny Danon, threatened "possible actions" in Gaza and Ramallah.[95]

Day 4

Overnight on 16 June, the IDF clashed with Palestinians in Jenin, where they ransacked the offices of Mustafa Barghouti's Palestinian National Initiative and confiscated computers.[96] 400 soldiers raided the Jalazone refugee camp near Ramallah, killing Ahmad Arafat Samada (Ahmad Sabarin) (21) with a gunshot wound in the chest, after the Israeli army said he threw a brick at the Israeli soldiers.[97][98] A dragnet rounded up a further 50 people, bringing the total of Palestinians detained to 150. Many arrests, including the former speaker of the Palestinian Legislative Council Aziz Duwaik, 66, were part of what IDF Chief of Staff Benny Gantz described as an extensive operation, and were not linked to the search for the youths, but were part of a crackdown to apply pressure on Hamas.[92][99] Netanyahu's approach was interpreted by some opponents as aimed at driving a wedge between Fatah and Hamas in order to break up the reconciliation between the two negotiated in April 2014,[100] thereby discrediting both Abbas and his government, which had been backed by Western countries.[101] PA sources noted that Hamas, in the unity negotiations, had undertaken to desist from attacks and bloodshed, and if its involvement were proven, it would be a breach of the agreement that would render the reconciliation null and void,[102] a point repeated later in the week by the Palestinian Foreign Minister.[103]

 
Weapons found in Nablus during Operation Brother's Keeper on the night of 16 June

Day 5

Overnight 16–17 June, the IDF arrested more than 200 Palestinians.[104] Anything linked to Hamas was being targeted, an official source said.[88] The IDF shifted its attentions north, and deployed 1,000 soldiers from the Nahal Brigade for operations around Nablus. In particular the Balata refugee camp and the village of Awarta were scoured in what a spokesman called '"cleaning house" in the "terror capital of Nablus"', and a further 41 Palestinians were detained, among them the manager of the Hamas-run television channel Al-Aqsa TV, bringing the number of arrests to 200.[104] Israeli soldiers confiscated a large cache of weapons and uncovered a weapons manufacturing lab in Nablus.[105]

Conflicting reports emerged regarding Israel's collaboration with both the PNA and other regional governments. Israel's Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories, Yoav Mordechai, denied on 16 June that Israel coordinated the search with Palestinian or Egyptian authorities.[92] However, Israel military intelligence confirmed that Israel was working closely with both the PA authorities and Egypt.[106] Egyptian sources stated the same day that Israel had requested their assistance, and that President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi had issued directives to his security services to undertake negotiations with all parties.[107] On 17 June, Israel defence sources said PNA assistance had been "very professional."[104]

Day 6

 
IDF troops in the West Bank on the night of 18 June.

On the night of 18 June, Israel seized 64 more Palestinians, of whom 51 were Hamas members who had been previously arrested but released in the Gilad Shalit exchange in 2011, bringing to 240 the number of arrests. In six days, government sources announced, they had searched 800 structures, including the Al-Aqsa radio station in Ramallah and the Hebron-based TransMedia communications company, both linked to Hamas.[108] Operations had taken place in Hebron, Jenin, Nablus, Yatta, Taffuh, Dura, Beit Kahil, East Jerusalem, Idhna, Surif, Beit Ula, Beit Awwa, Deir Sharaf, Salfit, Audla, Tell, Beit Furik[109] and Qabatiya.[110] The overnight operations also secured the defenses of Israeli settlements. In the process, 300,000 Palestinians were left under curfew, and 600,000 in the area had their movements restricted,[111] while Hebronites with permission to work in Israel, an estimated 20,000,[112] were denied entrance into Israel, disrupting their livelihood. According to an IDF spokesman, Palestinians preparing for the Ramadan holiday had "taken a hit." Home Front Defense Minister Gilad Erdan also stated that Israel had identified the Hamas cell responsible for the kidnapping.[110]

Day 7

Overnight on 19 June, troops raided the Bir Zeit University's student union searching for incriminating evidence, finding promotional material for Hamas.[59] The Prime Minister declared at a press conference: "We know more today than we did a few days ago."[59] The IDF arrested 25 wanted Palestinians in the West Bank, and searched 200 homes. Nine more raids were launched against Hamas social services (Dawah) centers.[113] Moshe Ya'alon outlawed West Bank activities of the British Muslim charity, Islamic Relief Worldwide (IRW) because some of its offices employed Hamas members. In East Jerusalem, a social centre operated from a Beit Safafa mosque in Beit Safafa village, and a Sur Baher charity were also closed down.[114] By night's end, 49 Palestinians had been arrested. One of the refugee camp detainees alleged that soldiers had stolen $580 from his wallet.[115]

Week 2 (20–26 June)

 
The funeral of 15-year-old Mohammed Dudeen, killed by the IDF in Dura during operation Brother's Keeper, June 2014

Day 8

Throughout the week, the arrest of Hamas leaders went quietly as they acceded to their detention, but by Friday, 20 June, sporadic popular resistance began to emerge.[116] Three Palestinians were wounded in a raid on Qalandiya refugee camp, near Jerusalem, while another five[117] were wounded in clashes at the Dheisheh refugee camp by Bethlehem, whose Ibdaa cultural center was wrecked, cheques and money from its safe, together with five computers, confiscated.[118] Four of the victims were reportedly run over by an Israeli jeep.[117][119] Also on 20 June, Israeli soldiers near the Qalandiya checkpoint in Ramallah fired live rounds at a group of Palestinians who had thrown homemade grenades at them. Mustafa Hosni Aslan, 22, received a gunshot wound to the head, and died on 25 June.[120][121][122] Live fire was used according to the IDF in response to Molotov cocktails, pipe bombs, one makeshift grenade, firecrackers, and stones being thrown at soldiers at the camps.[123] In Dura's Haninia neighbourhood, after a night-long raid, involving many clashes with local youths, to detain a person Israelis consider to be a terrorist, as troops were withdrawing, eyewitness testimonies reported that a retreating Israeli soldier fired six shots and killed[124] 15-year-old Mohammed Dudeen.[116][124][125][126] Twenty-five more Palestinians were arrested at Dura and Dheisheh, bringing the number of detainees to 320, of which 240 are considered Hamas operatives. The number of sites searched mounted to 1,150,[123] of which 1,000 buildings were damaged,[59] the figure including over 750 homes.[124] According to Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Malki Israel had destroyed 150 homes by week's end.[127] In another dawn raid on the Dean's Office and Student Union of the Arab American University in Jenin papers were seized, and Amir Saadi, 17, was shot in the shoulder. The villages of Arraba,[128] Al-Louz, and Artas were also raided.[117]

Riyad al-Malki demanded Israel produce evidence that Hamas was culpable, stating that Netanyahu cannot "keep blaming one side without showing evidence." He said Israel's massive military sweeps were unacceptable, with 300 Palestinians taken in exchange for three Israeli kids,[116] but the Palestinian authority would act to prevent an uprising, for "if the situation continues as it is, this will end up (with) the destruction of what we have built in Palestine."[103][127]

On Friday night, Israeli security spokesmen said the "noose was tightening" as troops were concentrated near Hebron, with intelligence officials confident that attempts to move the youths to either Jordan, Gaza, or the Sinai had failed.[129] A spokesman for the Prime Minister, Amos Gilead, stated that Netanyahu's view that Hamas was responsible was "built on the base of firm intelligence."[130] IDF forces ransacked Bethlehem's biggest Islamic charity, devoted to orphan's care, in the Jabal al-Mawalih neighborhood and took away computers and files.[131]

Day 9

On 21 June, Israeli forces concentrated their investigations on villages north of Hebron, searching wells, pits, and houses.[130] According to Palestinian reports, an elderly man, Ali Abed Jabir, either died during an altercation with Israeli troops who broke into his home while ransacking houses in the village of Haris, or was denied passage for medical treatment after suffering a heart attack.[132] Israel sources state the house was not raided and, on being told of the heart-attack, an Israeli ambulance was called.[133] A further 39 Palestinians, primarily in Hebron and Bethlehem, were arrested in overnight raids, bringing the number seized to roughly 370, 75 of whom had been released in the 2011 prisoner swap. IDF sources challenged the report, saying only 10 Hamas 'terrorists' were seized. Further claims of soldiers stealing money were made by villagers in Beit Kahil.[134] In the village of al-Bireh, several houses were ransacked, and soldiers broke into the Noon Center for Islamic Studies and the Palmedia TC company where they confiscated computers and damaged furniture.[135] The IDF said cash had been confiscated in 21 homes of the 146 homes searched overnight.[136] Palestinian sources also stated that in a predawn raid in Nablus, a female reporter was assaulted and troops shot and injured two Palestinian teenagers.[137] In the late afternoon three fire trucks, with pumps to empty pools of water, and an ATV rescue unit were rushed to assist special forces searching an area riddled with caves and wells north of Hebron, between Highway 35 and Highway 60, reportedly without concrete intelligence leads.[136][138] Netanyahu reaffirmed that 'the information in Israel's hands unequivocally indicates that Hamas is responsible for the abduction of the youths.'[138]

Day 10

 
Street in Ramallah after IDF raid during Operation Brother's Keeper, June 2014

On 22 June, Israeli units shot dead two Palestinians and wounded another 11 in overnight clashes in Ramallah and Nablus, while nine (Israeli statistic) to 38 (Palestinian statistic)[139] were arrested and five charity offices were raided. Israeli forces also raided Abu Dis and Al-Quds University's law faculty, seizing flags and several computers.[140] Ahmad Said Suod Khalid (27), an epileptic,[141] of Ein Beit al-Ma' refugee camp was shot in the abdomen, back, and thigh,[142] for refusing an order to turn back as he insisted on going to a mosque for dawn prayers. Muhammad Ismail Atallah Tarifi (30) was found dead on the roof of a building opposite an Israeli sniper position,[143][144] an autopsy found he was shot dead by an M16, a rifle in use with the IDF.[145][146] Mourners at his funeral in al-Bireh later complained that settlers from Psagot had fired at them, injuring one.[147] Palestinians, protesting at the cooperation given Israeli forces by their own police, who dispersed crowds by firing live ammunition in the air, smashed four local police cars in Ramallah, and, once Israelis had withdrawn from the city, raided a police station in Al Manara Square.[142] Abbas, affirming that he was not convinced Hamas was responsible, called on Netanyahu to condemn two earlier killings, and asked if the criminal kidnapping justified 'the killing of Palestinian youth in cold blood?'[148] The Palestinian Prisoners' Society named 420 people so far arrested, claimed Israel consistently understated the numbers and refused to disclose where they are detained.[139]

On Sunday, the Palestinian Authority asked for an urgent convening of the UN Security Council, while mulling an appeal both to the High Contracting Parties of the Fourth Geneva Convention and the UN General Assembly to put an end what it considered to be "collective punishment," "Israeli terrorist aggression against the State of Palestine," and what Hanan Ashrawi termed "a reign of terror directed against a captive Palestinian population."[149]

Day 11

On 23 June, 80 locations, including seven Hamas-linked charities, were raided from the Nablus to Hebron and Jenin areas, with a further 37 Palestinians detained overnight. Four money-changing shops in Hebron and one in Bethlehem were also searched, and their computers confiscated. The number of Palestinians under detention rose to 471.[150] An officer interviewed on Walla! said that Israel, having achieved most of its "band of targets,” would close the operation, and that the military incursion pattern in the West Bank, apart from detention raids, would stop within days. No clue to the teenagers' whereabouts, had turned up, but the operation, in crippling Hamas's infrastructure, had been a success.[151] Netanyahu declared: "We've pretty much figured out who are the kidnappers—the actual perpetrators, the supporters, the command structure—and there's no question, these are members of Hamas."[35]

Day 12

 
Mess in Hebron home after IDF search, 24 June 2014

On 24 June 120 buildings were searched and four to 13[152] Palestinians were rounded up by Israeli forces in the Hebron area, Beit Kahil, Beit Awwa, al-Arrub refugee camp, and the Hebron neighbourhoods of al-Mahawir, al-Bassa, and al-Hawooz,[152] bringing the number of sites examined to 1,800 and the number of detained Palestinians, in the IDF calculation, to 354,[153] or according to Palestinian sources, over 500.[152] As town searches and arrests wound down, investigators shifted their focus to interrogations of detainees and scrutiny of the 150 security cameras in the area in which the kidnapping is believed to have taken place.[154] The IDF said it had no substantial lead on the boys' whereabouts, or fate.[155] A lawyer for the PA said that in the wake of the West Bank round-up, the number of Palestinian minors detained in Israeli jails exceeded 250, and that the hunt for the missing Israeli youths served to cover up this fact.[156]

Day 13

On 25 June, 17 Palestinians were arrested overnight in Yatta, Beit Ummar, Hebron and Bethlehem among them legislative council members Khalid Tafish and Anwar Zaboun,[157][158] both of Bethlehem, bringing the number of Palestinian legislators arrested in the campaign to 12.[159] Of the 19 people arrested in Beit Ummar since the start of the search, 14 are minors.[158] A Palestinian youth in Khursa, Younis al-Rjoub (18), was shot in the abdomen during a clash with Israeli soldiers.[160]

Day 14

On 26 June, the Israel Security Agency released the names of two Hamas suspects.[1][27] The ISA stated that both men had engaged in terrorism, been arrested and served time in the past, and were immediately considered suspects. ISA and Palestinian authorities said they had disappeared from their homes on the night of the kidnapping, and ISA believed them to be integral members of the kidnapping group.[1][27][161]

Overnight, 136 structures were searched and a further 10 Palestinians were arrested in the Hebron area on suspicion of being terrorists.[34] Fatima Ismail Issa Rushdi (78) died of a heart attack during an Israeli raid on the Arruba refugee camp. Nine youths were injured by tear gas or rubber bullets. Two boys, aged 13 and 14, were arrested in Dura.[162] 44-year-old Ismail Ahmad al-Hawamda was shot in the foot, running away from a checkpoint in the Hebron district town of al-Samu.[163] Despite the Oslo Accords stipulating coordination with the PA security service for Israeli entry into West Bank Areas in the Area A, in what was called an "unprecedented" move, Israeli units raided the Tunis and Rafidia neighbourhoods of Nablus and Balata refugee camp without prior clearance. Two hundred homes in Awarta were also raided.[164]

According to Israeli figures, state detentions numbered 381, of whom 282 are affiliated to Hamas. The number of locations searched rose to 1,955, including 64 Hamas institutions.[34] Palestinian figures state that 566 were detained, six were shot dead, and over 120 wounded; two elderly people died of heart attacks during Israeli operations, and more than 1,200 homes were searched.[165]

Week 3 (27 June – 3 July)

Day 18

 
Graves of the three teenagers, Modi'in Cemetery

On 30 June, a search team located the bound bodies of the three boys on land purchased recently by the Qawasmeh family[70] in an open field near Khirbet Aranava in the Wadi Tellem area, between Halhul and Karmei Tzur, about 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) west of the former, just north of Hebron.[166][167][168] A high security source revealed that:

The quick solving of the crime by the Shin Bet, which within a 24-hour period identified the kidnappers, together with military pressure in the field, prevented the kidnappers from hiding the bodies and negotiating with Israel for their return.[167]

The ambulance carrying the three bodies was attacked by Palestinians as it left Halhul, the location where the bodies had been found. The Palestinians hurled rocks and paint at the ambulance, smashing its windshield and blinding the windows, but failed to cause the driver to lose control.[169]

Just after midnight, Israeli military detonated explosives in the Hebron homes of the two main suspects, Marwan Qawasmeh and Amer Abu Aisha.[170]

Day 19

The joint funeral of Yifrach, Fraenkel, and Shaer was scheduled for 17:30 on 1 July. Huge crowds delayed it for over an hour.

Israeli jets and helicopters struck 34 locations in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip in response to more than 20 rockets being fired at Israel from Gaza. A 19-year-old Palestinian man, Yousouf Al-Zagha, was shot dead by Israeli troops during a raid in the northern town of Jenin. An IDF spokesperson said the man had thrown a grenade at the troops, while his family maintained he had been carrying eggs home for suhoor, the predawn meal during the fast of Ramadan.[171][172]

Day 20

A Palestinian teenager was abducted from East Jerusalem and murdered. Israeli police located the body within hours, and arrested Israeli nationalist suspects several days later.[173] The kidnapping and murder of Mohammed Abu Khdeir was soundly denounced by all of the families of the Israeli kidnapping victims as well as by many Israeli governmental and non-governmental public figures.

Week 4 and on (4 July and after)

On 4 July, Israel stated it was searching for a third suspect, Husam Dofsh, absent from his home since the kidnapping. A relative, Jihad Dofsh, had blown himself up in a "work accident" in a Hamas explosives laboratory in Hebron, and one of Qawasmeh's relatives had died in the same incident.[78] Husam Dofsh was arrested in a Hebron coffee-shop the following day, after phoning an Israeli news site to protest his innocence.[174]

For about two weeks in July, Israeli military preparations began for direct fighting inside of Gaza, whilst Hamas rocket fire into Israel took place.[175] The military publicly announced on 17 July that it would go into Gaza, an intervention that caused at least 25 soldiers killed and scores injured on the Israeli side over the 20 to 21 July period.[175] Public opinion in the nation is strongly divided, with, for example, the newspaper Haaretz editorializing that the "soft Gaza sand... could turn into quicksand" and warning about the "wholesale killing" of Palestinian civilians.[176] The campaign in the Gaza is referred to by Israel as Operation Protective Edge.

On 20 August, Hamas official Saleh Al-'Arouri spoke at the conference of the International Union of Muslim Scholars in Istanbul, where he said the group's military wing was responsible for the kidnapping of the three Israeli teens, saying it was an expression of popular will.[177] Khaled Mashal, the Hamas leader, while recognizing that Hamas members were responsible, attempted to distance his organization from the killing two days later. Stating Hamas's opposition to killing civilians, he said the leadership had no advance knowledge of the abduction, which he regarded as a legitimate act by a frustrated people living under occupation, and that it had only learnt of its details from Israeli investigations.[178]

In July, demolition orders were handed out to the Qawasmeh and Abu Eisheh families and to Husam Ali Al Qawasmeh who was not a suspect in the killing but arrested for being a Hamas members. Despite protests from human rights groups, the families homes were demolished in August, displacing 39 Palestinians.[179]

Aftermath

Following the kidnappings and the escalating firing of missiles by Palestinian militants towards civilians in southern Israel, Israel decided to embark on Operation Protective Edge. On 3 July 2014, the Israeli Air Force conducted 15 air strikes in Gaza directed at Hamas targets in response to a rocket attack from Palestinian militants. The previous night, fifteen Palestinians were injured in the IAF strikes and two buildings ruined[180] Operation Protective Edge, became a ground war on 8 July 2014.

On 11 July 2014, a series of bills in the United States Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives was launched, attempting to solve the boys' murder, based upon Yaakov Naftali Fraenkel's dual US-Israeli citizenship. The new legislation would offer a $5 million reward for information on the abduction and murder.[181]

Accusations of collective punishment

On Day 7, The Palestinian Authority declared that the Israeli modus operandi of clamping down on towns with closures and continual arrest of Hamas members constituted collective punishment.[182][183] Amnesty International issued a statement on 19 June calling both for the release of the Israeli youths, their humane treatment while being held, and for Israel to lift several measures it defined as collective punishment in violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention and customary international humanitarian law.[32]

According to The Economist, "The Israeli security forces closed off the area around Hebron. Some 23,000 local Palestinians were barred from travelling to their jobs in Israel. A series of charitable organisations that used to be run by Hamas were closed down and a dairy, which employs hundreds of Palestinians, was demolished. Hebronites were prevented from travelling abroad."[184]

In July 2014, the Geneva International Centre for Justice sent an urgent appeal to protest against the imminent house demolition of the homes of the extended families of the suspects and of Husam Ali Al Qawasmeh. The demolitions which the Centre designated as collective punishment would affect 39 people.[179]

Two scholars rejected the claim that the actions constituted collective punishment:

  • Robbie Sabel, a professor of international law at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and a former legal adviser to Israel's Foreign Ministry, argued that Israel's actions shouldn't be considered collective punishment because they were aimed exclusively at finding the kidnapped teenagers and weakening the terrorist organizations behind their abduction and that in a search for kidnapped civilians, the arrests of members affiliated with the organization responsible for the kidnapping is legitimate.[185]
  • Eugene Kontorovich, international law professor at Northwestern University and Hebrew University said: "rounding up suspects, or potential witnesses, is not punishment, but rather rudimentary investigative process; especially when the crime is thought to be committed by a complex terror organization, the number of potential witnesses is high." Kontorovich cited as an example that police often arrest members of a gang after a crime to further investigate the perpetrators or criminal acts.[185]

Speculations on kidnapping motives

Elhanan Miller, writing for The Times of Israel speculated that the motive for the kidnapping could have been to force Israel to release a large number of prisoners in exchange for the three teens. In 2011, Hamas had secured the release of over one thousand prisoners in exchange for Gilad Shalit, whom they had captured five years prior.[186]

Some 300 prisoners went on a hunger strike against the Israeli practice of holding Palestinians in Administrative detention without charges for six months or more, which Israel says is done in cases where the detainee poses an imminent security risk and publicizing the charges could endanger national security.[187][188] Many Palestinians support the kidnapping of Israeli soldiers and civilians in order to obtain the release of these prisoners.[187][189] In 2011, Israel released more than a thousand Palestinians in detention, many convicted by Israeli courts for lethal attacks,[190] in exchange for Gilad Shalit, an Israeli soldier kidnapped by Palestinian militants.[187]

Some months before the 2014 incident, an 18-page manual on abduction techniques was published by Hamas. Entitled "Guide for the Kidnapper,” it provided an operational guide that outlined the use of pistols with silencers, the use of backup cars, the choice of conducting the abductions on rainy days, a command of Hebrew, the renting of hideouts in areas to avoid arousing suspicions and suggestions to refrain from announcing the outcome of the kidnapping until the victims were secured in a safe house.[106]

The difficulty confronting the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, which has an ongoing debate on the issue, is the coordination between the PNA and Israeli security services, which makes executing such operations difficult.[106] Several prior incidents, such as the killings of Givati soldier Gal "Gavriel" Kobi and Baruch Mizrahi, a police intelligence officer, displayed exceptional, high-level skills, strict compartmentalization, and careful preparations for an escape route, features shared by the kidnapping. These elements resemble the carefully planned abductions of IDF soldiers by Hezbollah on Israel's northern border.[66]

Israel said that the IDF and the Shin Bet have foiled between 54[191] and 64 kidnapping plots since 2013. The PA said it had foiled 43 of them.[148] The high success rate (95%) in blocking such plots is due to the very close cooperation between the security forces of both sides.[192] Hamas has put considerable effort into kidnapping attempts through its large network.[56]

A week into the search for the missing youth, Avi Issacharoff cast doubts on the premise for West Bank operations, which in his view 'targeted the weak'—since Hamas has neither a large or strong presence there—and argued that the operational order, if there was one, came from either Gaza, or abroad, perhaps Ankara-based deportee Saleh al-Arouri, or Khaled Mashaal, who appeared to hint a month earlier in replying to a letter from an imprisoned Hamas leader, after Netanyahu reneged on releasing a fourth group of Palestinian prisoners,[183] that the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades would be his reply. Issacharoff concluded however that, "There isn't a smoking gun to prove the Hamas leadership is complicit in the kidnapping."[193]

On 20 August, a Hamas official identified the West Bank Qawasmeh clan, a Hamas ally, for the kidnapping of the three Israeli teens and shared their motives. Saleh Al-'Arouri of the Hamas leadership delivered an address on behalf of Khaled Mashal at the conference of the International Union of Muslim Scholars in Istanbul. In it he said: "Our goal was to ignite an intifada in the West Bank and Jerusalem, as well as within the 1948 borders... Your brothers in the Al-Qassam Brigades carried out this operation to support their imprisoned brothers, who were on a hunger strike... The mujahideen captured these settlers in order to have a swap deal."[194]

Hitchhiking debate in Israel

As events unfolded, the dangerous nature of hitchhiking in what Israelis refer to as "the territories" prompted a debate, regarded by some in the settler and religious Zionist communities as a kind of victim blaming,[195] about the practice of hitching rides on roads in the Palestinian territories, widely regarded as a cavalier and irresponsible habit for the costs involved in redeeming anyone who is captured.[187][190] The normal Israeli practice is one where drivers pull up, declaring their destination, and, by their accent, allowing potential hikers at trempiada (hitchhiking stations) an opportunity to examine the clues before they accept or decline a lift.[187] Such hitchhiking has long been a hallowed method of travel among Israelis,[citation needed] but as abductions and killings of hitchhikers, mainly IDF soldiers, began to take root in the 1980s,[citation needed] one incident in October 1994 led to the passage of regulations that forbade military personnel from resorting to this method of travel.[citation needed] To hammer the message home, recruits doing basic training are required now to view snuff films that highlight the dangers, and military police "abduct" and punish recruits who do not take it seriously.[195]

Israeli governments have not regulated civilian recourse to hitchhiking, and laws delegate responsibility to parents, expecting them to advise their children.[187] The practice however remains widespread among the dati leumi community of religious Zionists for several reasons: many of them, as in this case, have children boarding in West Bank settlements, where public transport facilities are poor.[citation needed] Haaretz reported that for mitzvah-observant adolescents, it is "a rite of passage, a way of life, a declaration of independence and of ownership of the land."[195] Retired Brigadier General, Nitzan Nuriel, a former counter-terrorism officer in the Prime Minister's Office, declared on Israeli television that hitchhiking had an ideological edge: it made a statement about who owns the territory.[190]

Reactions

  Israel

One anonymous Israeli government official stated to Reuters news agency that Israel was looking to use the search as an opportunity for a wider crackdown on Hamas, and were looking into the legal aspects of deporting Hamas leaders from the West Bank.[196] A Hebrew-language Facebook page calling on PM Netanyahu to assume his responsibilities and requesting that a Palestinian "terrorist" be executed every hour until the three youths are restored to their families, gained 10,000 thumb-ups within hours.[197][198]

With a perception in Israel, expressed by Thane Rosenbaum, that the sympathy long lavished on Israel was dwindling,[199] the government stepped up hasbara efforts abroad, especially in Brazil where the 2014 FIFA World Cup was then the focus of much of the world's attention. An aircraft trailed a #BringBackOurBoys banner along a Rio de Janeiro beach. The families of the missing boys went to Geneva to address the UN's Human Rights Council.[200]

  • On television, Netanyahu declared that "Anyone trying to harm Israeli civilians will be harmed in return."[104]
  • Israel's Economic Minister Naftali Bennett said Israel will make membership of Hamas a 'ticket to hell', branding it one 'of the most "lethal, barbaric organizations in the world." Both the PA and Hamas, he affirmed, formed a 'complete culture where Israel is [perceived as] Satan.'[201]
  • 15 June. Moshe Ya'alon cited the kidnapping as "additional testimony to the cruelty and seething hatred that guides the terror groups in our region."[64]
  • 'Israel has decided to perform a root canal to uproot everything green in the West Bank,' reported on Israel's Army Radio, green being the colour of Hamas.[citation needed]
  • Israel's ambassador to Italy, Naor Gilon, declared that "Europe backs Hamas' government and the kidnapping of children and Israeli civilians."[202]
  • 'We're witnessing the unrestrained brutality of Islamic terrorism, both in Israel and around us.' Netanyahu to Ban Ki-moon.[138]
  • 'Not only are the kidnappers terrorists, but so is Hanin Zoabi'. Avigdor Liberman, writing in Facebook of his Knesset colleague.[203]
  • Rabbi Dov Lior said the abduction was God's punishment for anti-religious legislation in the Knesset and Israel's readiness to abandon parts of the Land of Israel. Yuval Diskin countered: If so, why did God arrange for religious boys to be kidnapped if he was angry with secular Israelis?[204]
  • The Haredi Yated Ne'eman claimed that government policies aimed at drafting yeshiva students into the army against their will was the cause of the abductions.[205]
  • 15 June. Jews and Muslims who work fields as part of the Shorashim/Judhur cooperative project near where the kidnapping took place met and discussed their distress for several hours.[206]
  • 17 June. Jews many from the Gush Etzion and Muslims held a joint prayer session at the kidnapping site. Rabbi Michael Melchior said Islamic clerics were concerned and demanded the youths' immediate release, and Israel's distress was shared by Palestinians. Jerusalem Sheikh Ibrahim Al-Hawa recited the Al-Fatiha chapter of the Quran, adding that 'there is a wall between our two nations, and we hope to remove the wall separating the hearts of humans.'[206]
  • In an interview with Globes Yishai Fraenkel, uncle of the missing Naftali Fraenkel, recounted that he had received "no few messages of support and encouragement from Palestinian sources" who had said they were repulsed by the kidnapping and were "praying for the boys' welfare."[207]
  • Human rights organization B'Tselem condemned the kidnapping of the three students and called for their immediate release, saying "any deliberate attack against civilians is absolutely prohibited." They also cautioned Israeli authorities to uphold human rights and avoid collective punishment of the local population in their efforts to bring the students home safely.[208] Later B'Tselem condemned the killing of the three students by saying "deliberate targeting of civilians undermines all moral, legal and human principles. The deliberate killing of civilians is defined as a grave breach of international humanitarian law, and cannot be justified, regardless of the circumstances."[209]
  • Knesset Member Hanin Zoabi, a Palestinian, stated that the kidnappers were not terrorists, but frustrated people resorting to such measures 'until the citizens of Israel and the public sober up and relate to the suffering of others,' mentioning the mothers of Palestinians who are being detained without trial.[210]
  • 'Three Israeli teenagers were kidnapped, but the two Palestinian kids who were killed [on Friday] were not even mentioned [in your broadcast]? The blood of Jews is more precious than the blood of Palestinians?' Hanin Zoabi.[203]
  • On 1 July 2014, settlers started two new outposts, one on a hilltop in the E1 area near Ma'ale Adumim and the other near Halhul.[211]
  • In late August, the IDF, acting on political instruction,[212] announced it was confiscating 988 acres (1.54 square miles) of privately owned Palestinian land south of Bethlehem,[213][214] as a response to the killing of the teens. Naftali Bennett described the move as an "appropriate Zionist response to murder,” adding: "What we did yesterday was a display of Zionism. Building is our answer to murder."[212][215][216] The U.S. rebuked the move as 'counter-productive', while France condemned it and Britain deplored the decision stating that it 'would seriously damage Israel's international reputation.'[216] Defining the area as state land rather than private Palestinian land was hailed by the Gush Etzion settlements council as an opportunity to build up Gva'ot, an illegal Israeli settlement of 16 families.[213][215] Robert Fisk stated that it was the first time Palestinian land had been seized, not on God's warrant, or security grounds, or because of deed of title, but for revenge, a measure which set a dangerous precedent.[217]

Social media in Israel

 
"Bring back our boys" on Jerusalem bus, June 2014.

A social media campaign was started soon after the kidnapping advocating for the safe return of the teens under the hashtag #BringBackOurBoys. According to Robert Mackey, the campaign was initiated by a "group of Israelis trained to promote their country online"[218] The campaign's label attempted to make the link between the then-recent #BringBackOurGirls campaign following the Chibok schoolgirl kidnapping in Nigeria. One of the organizers stated the social media effort "is simply a cry out to the world to bring those boys back,” adding that "We're only trying to do whatever we can to help the international community to put pressure to release those kids."[219] On 15 June, around 25,000 people gathered for a prayer at the Western Wall for the release of the kidnapped teenagers.[220]

Violent Israeli reactions

On the night of 1 July a Palestinian family registered a complaint at police concerning an attempt to kidnap their child, 10-year-old Moussa Zalum, on Shu'fat's main street in Jerusalem. At the time, they reported, he was walking with his mother and brother when a car stopped and people tried to pull him into the vehicle. The child managed to wriggle free, and the car sped off.[221]

After the bodies of the three boys were found, settlers attacks on Palestinians in the West Bank were reported. Settlers from Tel Rumeida in Hebron were in the streets, attacking Palestinians and internationals. The Border Police stormed the hill towards the gathered crowd of Palestinians and internationals, exploded a sound grenade and injured a Palestinian in the following clash.[211]

Main article: Kidnapping and murder of Mohammed Abu Khdeir

On 2 July a 16-year-old Palestinian from Shu'fat camp, Mohammed Abu Khdeir, was killed; preliminary results from the autopsy suggest he was burnt alive. The boy's family believes the killing to be an act of revenge from Jewish settlers for the murder of the three Israeli teenagers.[222] Netanyahu urged a swift inquiry into the "reprehensible murder" and called on people to respect the rule of law.[223]

On the evening of 3 July, Palestinians of Shu'fat reported to the Israeli police that four settlers from Pisgat Zeev had attempted to kidnap a 7-year-old local child, and had fled on being thwarted.[224] On Friday Palestinians of Osarin near Nablus in the West Bank complained that one of them, 22-year-old Tariq Ziad Zuhdi Adeli, had been sprayed with a gas by settlers, abducted in a car, taken outside the village and then sustained injuries from a hatchet attack to his legs.[225]

Three days later, a video was aired, that appeared as the beating up of 15-year-old American citizen Tariq Abu Khdeir by Israeli security forces. Tariq, a second-cousin of murdered Mohammed Abu Khdeir, is a student who attends Universal Academy of Florida high school in Tampa, Florida.[226][227][228] Israeli authorities then detained Tariq. The US State Department called for "a speedy, transparent and credible investigation and full accountability for any excessive use of force."[229] Israeli Border Police started an official investigation on 5 July.[230]

  Palestine

Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas, defying widespread popular Palestinian support for the kidnapping as a means of securing the release of Palestinians held in Israeli jails,[186] criticized the action, saying the youths must be returned,[231] and that Palestinian Authority security was cooperating with Israel to try to locate them.[232] Abbas' office released a statement condemning the kidnapping and the Israeli response of raids and arrests.[196] At US urging, Abbas was working closely with Israel to coordinate the search for the teens.[233] A PA spokesman stated that holding Palestinian authorities responsible for kidnappings in Area C of the West Bank, where Israel exercises full military control and prohibits a Palestinian police presence places the PA in an impossible position.[90]

The Palestinian Authority's official newspaper marked the kidnapping with a cartoon that spoofed the World Cup logo. Three hands hold the globe in the FIFA World Cup logo, but in Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, three hands held small helpless figures with their hands up in surrender. While the World Cup logo says "Brazil" under it, the spoof says Khalil, the Arabic name for Hebron, a city near the site of the kidnapping.[234]

A cartoon on a Fatah Facebook page presented the three kidnapped Israeli teenagers as rats caught on three hooks on a fishing rod. Each rat was emblazoned with a Star of David, and the title of the cartoon read "Masterstroke." A picture on the same Facebook page showed a hand with words written on three of the fingers. Read in succession they said: "Three Shalits, long live Palestine."[234][235][236]

Hamas spokesmen Sami Abu Zuhri and Fawzi Barhoum criticized the PNA collaboration with Israel to track down the culprits,[237] and Barhoum called the kidnappers "heroes."[189][238]

In social media, many Palestinians criticized what they see as the strong emphasis placed by Israel on the teenagers' disappearance to the detriment of Palestinian suffering, citing the case of two Palestinian boys shot dead by Israelis at a protest in Beitunia during a Nakba Day protest on 15 May 2014.[69]

On Twitter, in response to the IDF campaign, Palestinian sympathizers appropriated the hashtag as their own, drawing attention to both Palestinian prisoners in Israeli goals and Palestinian children killed by Israeli actions. One mentioned 5,271 Palestinian political prisoners, 192 administrative detainees, 17 women and 196 children.[239] Senior Hamas and Islamic Jihad officials have stated that kidnapping Israeli soldiers and settlers is the only route to obtain the release of Palestinian prisoners.[240] Palestinian Fatah and Hamas activists called on Palestinian shopkeepers and businessmen in Hebron, via Facebook, Twitter and other social media, to destroy any CCTV footage that could be used by Israel to help locate the teens. Fatah activists in Hebron also confiscated security cameras in order to frustrate the search.[241]

In the Gaza Strip, families of Palestinians imprisoned by Israel celebrated the kidnapping by handing out sweets to passersby from a protest tent that had been erected to express solidarity.[241][242] Gazan Palestinians also released a song on social networks mocking the kidnappings, and called for additional abductions.[243] A Palestinian group mounted a video on YouTube parodying the abduction, in a fictional scenario featuring an "Abu Saqer el Khalili Brigades, the Kick Ass Branch,” apparently taking the event to be an Israeli plot with Arab complicity while mocking Islamic extremism.[244]

  • Hamas parliamentarian Salah Bardawil: "We are capable of igniting a third Intifada which is an irrevocable right that will go off when more pressure is exerted on the Palestinian people."[citation needed]
  • "I don't plan to punish anyone based on suspicions or because Netanyahu claims something. If Netanyahu has information, he should update me and we'll take care of it according to our laws." Mahmoud Abbas.[148]
  • "The world cannot stand by while Israel, the occupying power, commits such grave breaches of international law." Hanan Ashrawi.[142]

International

  •   United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon released a statement condemning the abduction, expressing "deep concern on the trend toward violence on the ground and attendant loss of life, including today of a child in Gaza as a result of a recent Israeli airstrike." He expressed solidarity with the families of the abducted, called for their immediate release and called for restraint on both sides.[245][246][247] After the dead bodies were found, Ban Ki-moon condemned the murders of the three Israeli teenagers, calling them a "heinous act by enemies of peace that aim to entrench division and distrust and widen the Middle East conflict."[248]
  • In response to proposals in the Security Council to make a statement to the press condemning the kidnapping, and the collective punishment and deaths of Palestinians, no agreement could be found:[249] the US representative Samantha Power said that any direct criticism of Israel in the statement would constitute a 'red line' for Americans.[250]
  •   United States said that it was "very concerned" about the well-being of the teens, and that it was working with Israel and the Palestinian Authority to resolve the situation.[251] After the dead bodies of the three teenagers were found, the US Secretary of State John Kerry made a statement saying "the news of the murder of these three Israeli teenagers—Naftali Fraenkel, Gilad Shaar and Eyal Yifrach—is simply devastating. We all had so much hope that this story would not end this way." President of the United States Barack Obama responded to the deaths by sending his condolences to the families of the teenagers and condemning the "senseless act of terror against innocent youth."[248]
  •   Canada's Foreign Minister John Baird expressed deep concern over the event and urged Palestinian security authorities, "who have been trained through Canadian and US leadership,” to make every effort to ensure the safe return of the children to their families.[251]
  •   United Kingdom After the dead bodies of the three teenagers were found, Prime Minister David Cameron described their deaths as an "appalling and inexcusable act of terror."[252]
  •   France President François Hollande released a statement saying he was "shocked,” "strongly condemn[ed] the cowardly murder[s],” and "extend[ed] his sincere condolences to their families and to the Israeli people and authorities."[253] He attended that he "express[ed] his concern in the face of the increased violence in the West Bank and Gaza,” "condemn[ed] the rocket fire from Gaza into Israeli territory,” and "call[ed] for everything to be done to prevent any further casualties and the risk of an escalation of violence."[253]
  •   Spain condemned the kidnapping, along with Palestinian rocket attacks on Israel, and called for restraint.[251]
  •   Netherlands After the dead bodies of the three teenagers were found, Dutch Foreign Minister Frans Timmermans issued a statement saying that the Dutch government heard the news of the murder "with profound sadness and horror. These boys were in the prime of their lives and have been the victim of a horrific crime. The government of the Netherlands hopes that their killers will be apprehended soon and brought to justice."[248]
  •   European Union's ambassador to Israel tweeted that he was "deeply concerned" about the events and was hoping for the safe return of the teens.[251] Catherine Ashton's office condemned the kidnapping after five days, in the wake of Israeli official expressions of disappointment.[254] On 28 June the EU reiterated its call for the safe return of the youths. It regretted the increasing violence, particularly the killing of several Palestinians, and called on Israel to only use proportionate means in its search. It praised the Palestinian security services for their help in searching for the abductees, and condemned Hamas for praising the kidnapping.[255] After the dead bodies of the three teenagers were found, the EU's ambassador to Israel, Lars Faaborg-Andersen, tweeted that he sent condolences to the Israeli government on the "despicable" murders, "with hope that perpetrators are soon arrested."[248]
  •   Egypt's foreign ministry released a statement asking Israel to stop what it called "its collective punishment of the Palestinian people,” after it bombed dozens of sites in the Gaza Strip a day after the bodies of three missing Israeli teenagers were found. Egypt urged the Israeli forces to practice restraint and allow the Palestinian authorities to take on its responsibility in tracking the culprits, it also renewed its condemnation for all forms of violence that cause the death of civilians on both sides.[256]
  •   Colombia's Foreign Ministry released a statement condemning the assassination of the 3 teenagers that had previously been kidnapped on 12 June while on the same statement declaring the murder as an act of terrorism. Colombia expressed its condolences to the families of the victims and called to "reflect, and ponder on this difficult moments, in accordance to international rights."[257]
  •   Nigeria's President Goodluck Jonathan wrote to Netanyahu: .".. I assure you that we are in solidarity with you, as we believe that any act of terrorism against any nation or group is an act against our common humanity. We unequivocally condemn this dastardly act, and demand that the children are released unconditionally by their abductors."[258]
  •   Holy See The Vatican condemned the killing of three Israeli teenagers in the West Bank as a "hideous and unacceptable crime" and an obstacle to peace, calling the news of the deaths "terrible and dramatic."[259]
  • Quartet envoy Tony Blair posted a tweet saying that the abduction and killing of "these three young people was a heinous and wicked thing to do."[248]
  • Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman said that Germany, France, Britain, Belgium, Bulgaria and Norway all condemned the kidnapping of three Israelis in phone conversations with him.[248]

See also

References

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  250. ^ "US prevents UN condemnation of Israel over West Bank deaths". The Times of Israel. AP and AFP. 23 June 2014.
  251. ^ a b c d "US, Canada and Spain express concern over kidnapping". The Times of Israel. 15 June 2014.
  252. ^ "PM: Deaths of Israeli teens an appalling act of terror". ITV.com. 1 July 2014.
  253. ^ a b . Paris: Ambafrance-UK. 2 July 2014. Archived from the original on 12 January 2015. Retrieved 2 July 2014.
  254. ^ Keinon, Herb (17 June 2014). "After five days, EU condemns kidnapping of Israeli teens". The Jerusalem Post.
  255. ^ "EU urges Israeli restraint in search for abductees". The Times of Israel. 29 June 2014.
  256. ^ Keinon, Herb (1 June 2014). "Egypt urges Israel to stop collective punishment of Palestinians". Aswat Masriya.
  257. ^ "Cancillería expresa enérgica condena por el asesinato de los tres jóvenes israelíes" (in Spanish). cancilleria.gov.co. 1 July 2014. Retrieved 11 July 2014.
  258. ^ Lidman, Melanie (12 May 2014). "Nigerian leader decries 'dastardly' kidnapping of teens". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 30 June 2014.
  259. ^ "Vatican calls Israeli teenagers deaths hideous, threat to peace". Reuters. 30 June 2014.

External links

  Media related to Operation Brother’s Keeper at Wikimedia Commons

  • West Bank kidnapping at Haaretz
  • Memorial project by Yeshivat Mekor Chaim

January 01, 1970
2014, gush, etzion, kidnapping, murder, 6547, 1223, 6547, 1223, 2014, kidnapping, murder, israeli, teenagerseyal, yifrach, gilad, shaar, naftali, fraenkeldate12, june, 2014, 2014, timec, locationgush, etzion, west, bankoutcomethe, three, kidnapped, teenagers, . 31 39 17 N 35 07 20 E 31 6547 N 35 1223 E 31 6547 35 1223 2014 kidnapping and murder of Israeli teenagersEyal Yifrach Gilad Shaar Naftali FraenkelDate12 June 2014 2014 06 12 Timec 22 00 IDT UTC 03 00 LocationGush Etzion West BankOutcomeThe three kidnapped teenagers were murdered and their bodies found on 30 June DeathsNaftali Fraenkel 16 from Nof AyalonGilad Shaer 16 from TalmonEyal Yifrah 19 from El adSuspects2 Hamas members from Hebron Marwan Qawasmeh 29 and Amar Abu Isa Amer Abu Aysha 32 1 2 The 2014 Gush Etzion kidnapping and murder refers to the abduction and killing of three Israeli teenagers in the West Bank during June 2014 The victims Eyal Yifrach Gilad Shaer and Naftali Fraenkel were Israeli students aged 16 and 19 On the evening of 12 June 2014 the three teenagers were hitchhiking in the Alon Shvut settlement in Gush Etzion in the West Bank when they were abducted The Israel Defense Forces immediately initiated Operation Brother s Keeper Hebrew מבצע שובו אחים romanized Mivtza Shuvu Ahim in search of the three teenagers On 30 June their bodies were found in a shallow grave near the town of Halhul Israeli authorities accused two members of the Palestinian militant group Hamas Marwan Qawasmeh and Amer Abu Aisha of carrying out the abduction and murder As part of the operation Israel arrested around 350 Palestinians including nearly all of Hamas West Bank leaders The suspects were killed during a standoff with Israeli security forces on 23 September 2014 leading to the end of the operation The incident gained significant international attention and escalated tensions between Israelis and Palestinians leading to an increase in violence and retaliatory actions and eventually triggering the 2014 Gaza War Contents 1 Background 2 Victims 3 Suspects 3 1 Initial suspected perpetrators 3 2 Suspects arrested 3 3 Suspects killed 3 4 Investigation conclusion 4 Sequence of events 4 1 Prelude 4 2 Week 1 12 19 June 4 2 1 Day 1 4 2 2 Days 2 3 4 2 3 Day 4 4 2 4 Day 5 4 2 5 Day 6 4 2 6 Day 7 4 3 Week 2 20 26 June 4 3 1 Day 8 4 3 2 Day 9 4 3 3 Day 10 4 3 4 Day 11 4 3 5 Day 12 4 3 6 Day 13 4 3 7 Day 14 4 4 Week 3 27 June 3 July 4 4 1 Day 18 4 4 2 Day 19 4 4 3 Day 20 4 5 Week 4 and on 4 July and after 5 Aftermath 6 Accusations of collective punishment 7 Speculations on kidnapping motives 8 Hitchhiking debate in Israel 9 Reactions 9 1 Israel 9 1 1 Social media in Israel 9 1 2 Violent Israeli reactions 9 2 Palestine 9 3 International 10 See also 11 References 12 External linksBackground2013 was a calm period with the November 2012 ceasefire being largely respected despite 50 rockets fired by Palestinians and 10 airstrikes by Israel 3 According to PCHR 44 Palestinians were killed and over 100 injured 4 while the Israeli Security Agency reported six Israeli fatalities all but one from the West Bank and 44 injuries 5 The first half of 2014 saw an increase in tension manifested by a higher rate of injuries Among Palestinians there were 43 fatalities in the first half of the year plus 1860 injuries 6 Tension was also increased by Israel s opposition to the formation of a Hamas Fatah unity government with threats of sanctions 7 and the burgeoning issue of prisoners and the violation of the Shalit agreement 8 9 10 Mutual attacks on each other by Israel and Gaza continued as did the Israeli blockade of Gaza 11 Mainstream western media ascribe the initiation of the major 2014 conflict to the kidnapping of the three Israeli teenagers 12 Some news analysts believe that earlier clashes might also have played a role in the chain of events On 15 May two Palestinian teenagers were shot dead during the Nakba commemorations in the Beitunia killings An autopsy report published on 9 June proved the death of one of them to be due to live fire i e not rubber bullets 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 The Israeli Foreign Ministry web site emphasized rocket fire from Gaza as being the reason for the IDF mission into Gaza 20 21 VictimsEyal Yifrach 19 lived in El ad citation needed Naftali Fraenkel also spelled Frenkel 16 was a dual Israeli American citizen and lived in Nof Ayalon citation needed Gilad Shaer was a resident of the Israeli settlement of Talmon citation needed Eyal Yifrah was a student at the Shavei Hevron Yeshiva he on King David Street in Hebron 22 The other two were students of the Mekor Chaim yeshiva at Kfar Etzion in the West Bank s Area C under full Israeli administration 23 24 SuspectsInitial suspected perpetrators Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that Hamas killed the teenagers 25 But opinions were divided within Israel s security services as to whether or not the two suspects had direct ties to Hamas 26 On 26 June the Israel Security Agency identified two Hamas members as key suspects in the kidnapping whom Palestinian police noted had gone missing since the night of the kidnapping 1 27 28 High ranking members of Hamas denied that the group had any involvement or foreknowledge of the incident 29 The two named suspects hail from the Qawasameh clan notorious for consistently acting against Hamas s policies 30 Hamas political chief Khaled Meshal said he could neither confirm nor deny the kidnapping of the three Israelis and he congratulated the abductors because our prisoners must be freed from the prisons of the occupation 31 Initially a number of groups some previously unknown claimed responsibility for the kidnappings The Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades subsequently denied 32 a West Bank Branch of Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant Brigades of Global Jihad Ahrar ar Khalil Liberators Battalion of Hebron and Regiments of Hezbollah 33 34 It was not clear how true their claims were and the middle three were not considered credible 35 Suspects arrested After the kidnap of the Israeli teens Israel commenced Operation Brother s Keeper in the West Bank Israel killed 9 Palestinians and raided 1300 properties including commercial and residential buildings 800 Palestinians were arrested without immediate charge or trial 36 On 5 August 2014 Israel announced that Israeli security forces arrested Hussam Kawasme in Shuafat in connection with the murders 37 During interrogation Kawasme admitted to being the mastermind behind the attack in addition to securing the funding from Hamas 38 Kawasme stated that after the boys were killed Marwan Kawasme and Amer Abu Aysha drove to his house where the three proceeded to bury the victims in Halhoul the land Kawasme purchased only a few weeks prior 39 By the time of his arrest Kaswasme had shaved his beard and received a fake passport in what was believed to be part of a plan to escape to Jordan 40 Officials stated that additional people arrested in connection with the murders were still being held but no names were initially released 41 On 20 August Hamas member Saleh al Arouri who lived in Turkey claimed Hamas s involvement in the abduction and murder according to an Israeli Channel 2 translation He continued to describe the perpetrators as heroic 42 Hugh Lovatt of the European Council on Foreign Relations labeled al Arouri s claim was suspicious saying it might have reflected a desire to assert his relevance within the Hamas leadership or alternatively was accurate reflecting a power struggle within Hamas itself 43 On 21 August Hamas leader Khaled Mashal claimed Hamas leadership had no prior knowledge of the abductions and murders and had learned about them through the Israeli military 44 The following day NGO Shurat HaDin contacted US Attorney General Eric Holder to request extradition of al Arouri Although Turkey and Israel do not have an extradition agreement the US and Turkey do which it can use to extradite those who commit terrorist acts against US citizens 45 Suspects killed The two suspects Marwan Kawasme and Amar Abu Aysha were staying in a house in Hebron when IDF soldiers and Israeli counter terrorism Yamam members surrounded the building at dawn on 23 September in an attempt to arrest the suspects Israeli forces opened fire on the building and reportedly called on the two suspects to come out With no response the Israeli force began using a bulldozer to bring down the building According to Israeli forces one of the suspects partially rose out of a hole and began firing a rifle whereupon Israeli forces shot him After this suspect fell back into the home likely dead Israeli forces again opened fire on the house utilizing grenades and other explosives this time after which both men were confirmed deceased 46 47 Both Hebron governor Kamel Hmeid and Hamas spokesman Salah Bardawil described the suspects as martyrs with the latter belatedly insinuating that Hamas had in fact been responsible for the kidnap and murder of the three Israeli teens 48 49 Hamas leader Khaled Mashal also called the suspects martyrs and heroes 50 Investigation conclusion The investigation concluded that the kidnapping operation s costs ran to NIS220 000 a sum procured by Hossam Hassan Kawasmeh 40 with the assistance of his brother Mahmoud who was exiled to the Gaza Strip in the Gilad Shalit exchange in November 2011 to purchase the two vehicles and weaponry The cars were purchased from Nuh Abu Eisha and the weapons from Hamas operative Adnan Mahmad Izzat Zru 34 both Hebronites Hossam Kawasmeh s attempt to escape to Jordan thwarted when he was arrested in the Shuafat refugee camp on 11 July was assisted by his relatives Hisham Kawasmeh 45 and Jamil Kawasmeh 38 as well as Hassan Kawasmeh 45 a Hamas militant Two other Hebronites Ahmad Ibrahim Mahmad Kawasmeh 64 and his brother senior Hamas operative Arafat Ibrahim Mahmad Kawasmeh 50 were involved in helping the perpetrators go into hiding the latter concealing them on his property 51 On 6 January 2015 Hussam Qawasmeh was sentenced to three life terms in prison for the murders along with being assessed a compensation payment of 63 000 to the victims families 52 Sequence of eventsPrelude According to Israeli investigations the seizure and killing of the three was organized by Hussam Qawasmeh who had received 39 000 from his brother Mahmoud in Gaza via a go between still at large The money financed the purchase of three M 16 rifles a jeep and the Israeli car which was bought from a used car dealer in Hebron after it was stolen from the settlement of Tzur Hadassah 53 Altogether he met with Marwan five or six times before the kidnapping The plan was to conceal one kidnapped Israeli in Marwan Qawasme s barbershop in Hebron then transfer him to Marwan s aunt s vacant house A first attempt on 10 June failed to find any hitchhikers 53 There was no intention to release the boys from the outset the plan considered amateurish and not professional envisaged murdering the captives The plot of land where they were buried had been purchased to that end some time earlier and a refuge to escape detection had been prepared in an old house near Tufah where the two suspects hid in a disused cesspit for five days 54 Week 1 12 19 June Netanyahu asserted that the attack originated from PA controlled areas and criticized the Fatah Hamas pact 55 In the first week Israel added a further three to the six combat brigades already present in the West Bank 56 Close to 40 battalions were engaged in rounding up suspects 57 notably the Paratroopers 35th Division and the Kfir s 900th Division 58 Other specialized groups such as the Duvdevan Unit 59 the Egoz Reconnaissance Unit and the Airborne Rescue And Evacuation Unit 669 57 supplement the search force 57 Skylark mini UAV drones were deployed and the Yahalom combat engineering unit conducted tunnel searches 60 Fifty Bedouin IDF trackers were also used 35 Day 1 Late into the night of Thursday 12 June teenagers Yifrach Fraenkel and Shaer were waiting at Geva ot Intersection west of the settlement of Alon Shvut in the Etzion Bloc south of Jerusalem soon after 22 15 looking to catch a ride heading west on Route 367 toward Beit Shemesh and from there to locations in central Israel where each of them lived The kidnappers intended to kidnap one Israeli Apparently Yifrach after accepting a ride waved to the other two to join him The Palestinians afraid of giving their identity away if they spoke Hebrew didn t dare object 53 After the car veered off from the declared direction of Ashkelon the three realized they had been kidnapped Shaer then telephoned the police at 22 25 whispering I ve been kidnapped 53 61 Eight attempts were made to page the caller s cellphone without checking its ownership and his whispered remark was taken to be one of a number of pranks made that night No check was made to find out the phone s owner nor whether he was missing Within days Israeli investigators though lacking conclusive proof strongly suspected the teenagers had been killed and if so knew where the victims bodies would probably have been dumped 62 63 Subsequent analysis of the tape revealed what the police failed to realize at the time that the murders had occurred while the hotline operator had been listening 53 64 65 Four and a half hours passed before Shaer s family finally phoned the Talmon security coordinator at 3 10 am to inform him their son Gil Ad had not returned home Only then did the security establishment take the case seriously and Shin Bet and the IDF were alerted by the police 66 67 According to the Palestinian Ma an News Agency the army succeeded in tracing the call to the Sanjar region the last cellphone signal being made at 23 20 in the Hebron area when Fraenkel s and Shaer s cellphones had been switched off 53 68 69 Meanwhile at 1 a m on Friday morning Marwan knocked on Hussam s door and said I ve murdered three Jews 53 A gag order regarding the abduction was immediately placed on Israeli news services The presumed identities of the kidnappers acolytes of senior Hamas members were known almost from the beginning to everyone in Hebron but kept from the Israeli public 70 71 in lieu of concrete details rumours proliferated 72 Controversy soon raged in Israel over the police delay in reporting the call 73 At 11 00 on 13 June a Hannibal alert meaning kidnapping was issued citation needed Based on cellphone and other data Israeli investigators deduced that the kidnappers car had stopped near Beit Kahil west of Halhul for 28 minutes 53 According to Palestinian security sources a Hyundai i35 with seating for 5 74 with Israeli license plates was torched on the night of 12 June and subsequently found by Palestinian police 2 kilometres 1 2 mi from the village of Beit Einun near Hebron 23 75 This vehicle was believed to be connected to the abduction 24 68 Suspicion arose that the use of the car displaying Israeli license plates was a trick to lull the hitchhikers into believing the vehicle was driven by Israelis 23 Israeli authorities had placed the emergency call recording under a gag order but it was leaked to the public after which the gag order was partially lifted 76 It then emerged that after Gilad Shaer s whispered message They kidnapped me the taped emergency call also recorded a cry heads down sounds of shouting a volley of automatic fire a weak voice sighing Ai silence another volley of automatic fire and then singing 76 77 The burnt car discovered that morning yielded evidence of numerous blood stains Israeli police assumed correctly that bodies must have been buried in that vicinity What they did not know was that the bodies had been taken from the provisional burial site and reburied 3 kilometres 1 9 mi beyond the radius of research 53 Notwithstanding this the Israeli authorities began to broadcast the message that the boys were abducted not that they had been murdered 77 78 79 Days 2 3 On 14 15 June the Hebron and South Hebron Hills areas were the focus of investigations by a large number of troops Soldiers numbering 2 500 80 together with security agents police and special forces 24 engaged in a manhunt scouring numerous villages including Beit Ummar 81 Beit Einun 75 Halhul Dura as Samu Tarqumiyah Beit Kahil 82 Yatta 83 Taffuh 84 85 and Tapuah 86 in what the IDF termed Operation Shuvu Achim Return Brothers Bring Back Our Brothers 80 and referred to in English as Brother s Keeper 87 An anonymous security source claimed that little resistance was encountered because the local populations have become accustomed in recent years to regular night raids by the IDF 88 The sound of rubber coated bullets and tear gas canisters were heard 75 nbsp IDF troops entering a building to search on 15 June nbsp Weapons found during Operation Brother s Keeper in Nablus Over the weekend Israeli security forces also arrested around 80 Palestinians among them senior members of Hamas accused of being connected to the kidnapping 89 29 in a sweep that rounded up former government leaders clerics university lecturers and militants of both Hamas and Islamic Jihad across the West Bank 90 In Hebron s Ein Deir Baha neighborhood Israeli forces broke down a door apparently by firing a missile after surrounding the house of Akram al Qawasami 91 92 He his 8 year old son Muhammad and younger daughter Sujoud were injured by shrapnel and two Hamas operatives among them Zaid Akram al Qawasami were arrested inside 91 92 The military also fully closed the Hebron area and Gaza crossings only allowing passage for humanitarian cases 29 On Sunday Netanyahu said what he had only hinted at previously that Israel knew for a fact that the abduction had been carried out by Hamas 93 a position the IDF had avoided explicitly stating 67 He did however not provide any evidence 94 Security officials remained more cautious tending to accept the probability that a Hebronite Hamas cell was involved but uncertain whether it was a local initiative to secure prisoner releases or an operation approved by the Hamas leadership in Gaza 66 A remark by Moshe Ya alon about the very heavy price Hamas leaders might pay was interpreted by one journalist as hinting Israel might be mulling the option of resuming its campaign of targeted killings this time against the Hamas leadership 64 Israel s Deputy Minister of Defense Danny Danon threatened possible actions in Gaza and Ramallah 95 Day 4 Overnight on 16 June the IDF clashed with Palestinians in Jenin where they ransacked the offices of Mustafa Barghouti s Palestinian National Initiative and confiscated computers 96 400 soldiers raided the Jalazone refugee camp near Ramallah killing Ahmad Arafat Samada Ahmad Sabarin 21 with a gunshot wound in the chest after the Israeli army said he threw a brick at the Israeli soldiers 97 98 A dragnet rounded up a further 50 people bringing the total of Palestinians detained to 150 Many arrests including the former speaker of the Palestinian Legislative Council Aziz Duwaik 66 were part of what IDF Chief of Staff Benny Gantz described as an extensive operation and were not linked to the search for the youths but were part of a crackdown to apply pressure on Hamas 92 99 Netanyahu s approach was interpreted by some opponents as aimed at driving a wedge between Fatah and Hamas in order to break up the reconciliation between the two negotiated in April 2014 100 thereby discrediting both Abbas and his government which had been backed by Western countries 101 PA sources noted that Hamas in the unity negotiations had undertaken to desist from attacks and bloodshed and if its involvement were proven it would be a breach of the agreement that would render the reconciliation null and void 102 a point repeated later in the week by the Palestinian Foreign Minister 103 nbsp Weapons found in Nablus during Operation Brother s Keeper on the night of 16 June Day 5 Overnight 16 17 June the IDF arrested more than 200 Palestinians 104 Anything linked to Hamas was being targeted an official source said 88 The IDF shifted its attentions north and deployed 1 000 soldiers from the Nahal Brigade for operations around Nablus In particular the Balata refugee camp and the village of Awarta were scoured in what a spokesman called cleaning house in the terror capital of Nablus and a further 41 Palestinians were detained among them the manager of the Hamas run television channel Al Aqsa TV bringing the number of arrests to 200 104 Israeli soldiers confiscated a large cache of weapons and uncovered a weapons manufacturing lab in Nablus 105 Conflicting reports emerged regarding Israel s collaboration with both the PNA and other regional governments Israel s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories Yoav Mordechai denied on 16 June that Israel coordinated the search with Palestinian or Egyptian authorities 92 However Israel military intelligence confirmed that Israel was working closely with both the PA authorities and Egypt 106 Egyptian sources stated the same day that Israel had requested their assistance and that President Abdel Fattah el Sisi had issued directives to his security services to undertake negotiations with all parties 107 On 17 June Israel defence sources said PNA assistance had been very professional 104 Day 6 nbsp IDF troops in the West Bank on the night of 18 June On the night of 18 June Israel seized 64 more Palestinians of whom 51 were Hamas members who had been previously arrested but released in the Gilad Shalit exchange in 2011 bringing to 240 the number of arrests In six days government sources announced they had searched 800 structures including the Al Aqsa radio station in Ramallah and the Hebron based TransMedia communications company both linked to Hamas 108 Operations had taken place in Hebron Jenin Nablus Yatta Taffuh Dura Beit Kahil East Jerusalem Idhna Surif Beit Ula Beit Awwa Deir Sharaf Salfit Audla Tell Beit Furik 109 and Qabatiya 110 The overnight operations also secured the defenses of Israeli settlements In the process 300 000 Palestinians were left under curfew and 600 000 in the area had their movements restricted 111 while Hebronites with permission to work in Israel an estimated 20 000 112 were denied entrance into Israel disrupting their livelihood According to an IDF spokesman Palestinians preparing for the Ramadan holiday had taken a hit Home Front Defense Minister Gilad Erdan also stated that Israel had identified the Hamas cell responsible for the kidnapping 110 Day 7 Overnight on 19 June troops raided the Bir Zeit University s student union searching for incriminating evidence finding promotional material for Hamas 59 The Prime Minister declared at a press conference We know more today than we did a few days ago 59 The IDF arrested 25 wanted Palestinians in the West Bank and searched 200 homes Nine more raids were launched against Hamas social services Dawah centers 113 Moshe Ya alon outlawed West Bank activities of the British Muslim charity Islamic Relief Worldwide IRW because some of its offices employed Hamas members In East Jerusalem a social centre operated from a Beit Safafa mosque in Beit Safafa village and a Sur Baher charity were also closed down 114 By night s end 49 Palestinians had been arrested One of the refugee camp detainees alleged that soldiers had stolen 580 from his wallet 115 Week 2 20 26 June nbsp The funeral of 15 year old Mohammed Dudeen killed by the IDF in Dura during operation Brother s Keeper June 2014 Day 8 Throughout the week the arrest of Hamas leaders went quietly as they acceded to their detention but by Friday 20 June sporadic popular resistance began to emerge 116 Three Palestinians were wounded in a raid on Qalandiya refugee camp near Jerusalem while another five 117 were wounded in clashes at the Dheisheh refugee camp by Bethlehem whose Ibdaa cultural center was wrecked cheques and money from its safe together with five computers confiscated 118 Four of the victims were reportedly run over by an Israeli jeep 117 119 Also on 20 June Israeli soldiers near the Qalandiya checkpoint in Ramallah fired live rounds at a group of Palestinians who had thrown homemade grenades at them Mustafa Hosni Aslan 22 received a gunshot wound to the head and died on 25 June 120 121 122 Live fire was used according to the IDF in response to Molotov cocktails pipe bombs one makeshift grenade firecrackers and stones being thrown at soldiers at the camps 123 In Dura s Haninia neighbourhood after a night long raid involving many clashes with local youths to detain a person Israelis consider to be a terrorist as troops were withdrawing eyewitness testimonies reported that a retreating Israeli soldier fired six shots and killed 124 15 year old Mohammed Dudeen 116 124 125 126 Twenty five more Palestinians were arrested at Dura and Dheisheh bringing the number of detainees to 320 of which 240 are considered Hamas operatives The number of sites searched mounted to 1 150 123 of which 1 000 buildings were damaged 59 the figure including over 750 homes 124 According to Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al Malki Israel had destroyed 150 homes by week s end 127 In another dawn raid on the Dean s Office and Student Union of the Arab American University in Jenin papers were seized and Amir Saadi 17 was shot in the shoulder The villages of Arraba 128 Al Louz and Artas were also raided 117 Riyad al Malki demanded Israel produce evidence that Hamas was culpable stating that Netanyahu cannot keep blaming one side without showing evidence He said Israel s massive military sweeps were unacceptable with 300 Palestinians taken in exchange for three Israeli kids 116 but the Palestinian authority would act to prevent an uprising for if the situation continues as it is this will end up with the destruction of what we have built in Palestine 103 127 On Friday night Israeli security spokesmen said the noose was tightening as troops were concentrated near Hebron with intelligence officials confident that attempts to move the youths to either Jordan Gaza or the Sinai had failed 129 A spokesman for the Prime Minister Amos Gilead stated that Netanyahu s view that Hamas was responsible was built on the base of firm intelligence 130 IDF forces ransacked Bethlehem s biggest Islamic charity devoted to orphan s care in the Jabal al Mawalih neighborhood and took away computers and files 131 Day 9 On 21 June Israeli forces concentrated their investigations on villages north of Hebron searching wells pits and houses 130 According to Palestinian reports an elderly man Ali Abed Jabir either died during an altercation with Israeli troops who broke into his home while ransacking houses in the village of Haris or was denied passage for medical treatment after suffering a heart attack 132 Israel sources state the house was not raided and on being told of the heart attack an Israeli ambulance was called 133 A further 39 Palestinians primarily in Hebron and Bethlehem were arrested in overnight raids bringing the number seized to roughly 370 75 of whom had been released in the 2011 prisoner swap IDF sources challenged the report saying only 10 Hamas terrorists were seized Further claims of soldiers stealing money were made by villagers in Beit Kahil 134 In the village of al Bireh several houses were ransacked and soldiers broke into the Noon Center for Islamic Studies and the Palmedia TC company where they confiscated computers and damaged furniture 135 The IDF said cash had been confiscated in 21 homes of the 146 homes searched overnight 136 Palestinian sources also stated that in a predawn raid in Nablus a female reporter was assaulted and troops shot and injured two Palestinian teenagers 137 In the late afternoon three fire trucks with pumps to empty pools of water and an ATV rescue unit were rushed to assist special forces searching an area riddled with caves and wells north of Hebron between Highway 35 and Highway 60 reportedly without concrete intelligence leads 136 138 Netanyahu reaffirmed that the information in Israel s hands unequivocally indicates that Hamas is responsible for the abduction of the youths 138 Day 10 nbsp Street in Ramallah after IDF raid during Operation Brother s Keeper June 2014 On 22 June Israeli units shot dead two Palestinians and wounded another 11 in overnight clashes in Ramallah and Nablus while nine Israeli statistic to 38 Palestinian statistic 139 were arrested and five charity offices were raided Israeli forces also raided Abu Dis and Al Quds University s law faculty seizing flags and several computers 140 Ahmad Said Suod Khalid 27 an epileptic 141 of Ein Beit al Ma refugee camp was shot in the abdomen back and thigh 142 for refusing an order to turn back as he insisted on going to a mosque for dawn prayers Muhammad Ismail Atallah Tarifi 30 was found dead on the roof of a building opposite an Israeli sniper position 143 144 an autopsy found he was shot dead by an M16 a rifle in use with the IDF 145 146 Mourners at his funeral in al Bireh later complained that settlers from Psagot had fired at them injuring one 147 Palestinians protesting at the cooperation given Israeli forces by their own police who dispersed crowds by firing live ammunition in the air smashed four local police cars in Ramallah and once Israelis had withdrawn from the city raided a police station in Al Manara Square 142 Abbas affirming that he was not convinced Hamas was responsible called on Netanyahu to condemn two earlier killings and asked if the criminal kidnapping justified the killing of Palestinian youth in cold blood 148 The Palestinian Prisoners Society named 420 people so far arrested claimed Israel consistently understated the numbers and refused to disclose where they are detained 139 On Sunday the Palestinian Authority asked for an urgent convening of the UN Security Council while mulling an appeal both to the High Contracting Parties of the Fourth Geneva Convention and the UN General Assembly to put an end what it considered to be collective punishment Israeli terrorist aggression against the State of Palestine and what Hanan Ashrawi termed a reign of terror directed against a captive Palestinian population 149 Day 11 On 23 June 80 locations including seven Hamas linked charities were raided from the Nablus to Hebron and Jenin areas with a further 37 Palestinians detained overnight Four money changing shops in Hebron and one in Bethlehem were also searched and their computers confiscated The number of Palestinians under detention rose to 471 150 An officer interviewed on Walla said that Israel having achieved most of its band of targets would close the operation and that the military incursion pattern in the West Bank apart from detention raids would stop within days No clue to the teenagers whereabouts had turned up but the operation in crippling Hamas s infrastructure had been a success 151 Netanyahu declared We ve pretty much figured out who are the kidnappers the actual perpetrators the supporters the command structure and there s no question these are members of Hamas 35 Day 12 nbsp Mess in Hebron home after IDF search 24 June 2014 On 24 June 120 buildings were searched and four to 13 152 Palestinians were rounded up by Israeli forces in the Hebron area Beit Kahil Beit Awwa al Arrub refugee camp and the Hebron neighbourhoods of al Mahawir al Bassa and al Hawooz 152 bringing the number of sites examined to 1 800 and the number of detained Palestinians in the IDF calculation to 354 153 or according to Palestinian sources over 500 152 As town searches and arrests wound down investigators shifted their focus to interrogations of detainees and scrutiny of the 150 security cameras in the area in which the kidnapping is believed to have taken place 154 The IDF said it had no substantial lead on the boys whereabouts or fate 155 A lawyer for the PA said that in the wake of the West Bank round up the number of Palestinian minors detained in Israeli jails exceeded 250 and that the hunt for the missing Israeli youths served to cover up this fact 156 Day 13 On 25 June 17 Palestinians were arrested overnight in Yatta Beit Ummar Hebron and Bethlehem among them legislative council members Khalid Tafish and Anwar Zaboun 157 158 both of Bethlehem bringing the number of Palestinian legislators arrested in the campaign to 12 159 Of the 19 people arrested in Beit Ummar since the start of the search 14 are minors 158 A Palestinian youth in Khursa Younis al Rjoub 18 was shot in the abdomen during a clash with Israeli soldiers 160 Day 14 On 26 June the Israel Security Agency released the names of two Hamas suspects 1 27 The ISA stated that both men had engaged in terrorism been arrested and served time in the past and were immediately considered suspects ISA and Palestinian authorities said they had disappeared from their homes on the night of the kidnapping and ISA believed them to be integral members of the kidnapping group 1 27 161 Overnight 136 structures were searched and a further 10 Palestinians were arrested in the Hebron area on suspicion of being terrorists 34 Fatima Ismail Issa Rushdi 78 died of a heart attack during an Israeli raid on the Arruba refugee camp Nine youths were injured by tear gas or rubber bullets Two boys aged 13 and 14 were arrested in Dura 162 44 year old Ismail Ahmad al Hawamda was shot in the foot running away from a checkpoint in the Hebron district town of al Samu 163 Despite the Oslo Accords stipulating coordination with the PA security service for Israeli entry into West Bank Areas in the Area A in what was called an unprecedented move Israeli units raided the Tunis and Rafidia neighbourhoods of Nablus and Balata refugee camp without prior clearance Two hundred homes in Awarta were also raided 164 According to Israeli figures state detentions numbered 381 of whom 282 are affiliated to Hamas The number of locations searched rose to 1 955 including 64 Hamas institutions 34 Palestinian figures state that 566 were detained six were shot dead and over 120 wounded two elderly people died of heart attacks during Israeli operations and more than 1 200 homes were searched 165 Week 3 27 June 3 July Day 18 nbsp Graves of the three teenagers Modi in Cemetery On 30 June a search team located the bound bodies of the three boys on land purchased recently by the Qawasmeh family 70 in an open field near Khirbet Aranava in the Wadi Tellem area between Halhul and Karmei Tzur about 3 kilometres 1 9 mi west of the former just north of Hebron 166 167 168 A high security source revealed that The quick solving of the crime by the Shin Bet which within a 24 hour period identified the kidnappers together with military pressure in the field prevented the kidnappers from hiding the bodies and negotiating with Israel for their return 167 The ambulance carrying the three bodies was attacked by Palestinians as it left Halhul the location where the bodies had been found The Palestinians hurled rocks and paint at the ambulance smashing its windshield and blinding the windows but failed to cause the driver to lose control 169 Just after midnight Israeli military detonated explosives in the Hebron homes of the two main suspects Marwan Qawasmeh and Amer Abu Aisha 170 Day 19 The joint funeral of Yifrach Fraenkel and Shaer was scheduled for 17 30 on 1 July Huge crowds delayed it for over an hour Israeli jets and helicopters struck 34 locations in the Hamas run Gaza Strip in response to more than 20 rockets being fired at Israel from Gaza A 19 year old Palestinian man Yousouf Al Zagha was shot dead by Israeli troops during a raid in the northern town of Jenin An IDF spokesperson said the man had thrown a grenade at the troops while his family maintained he had been carrying eggs home for suhoor the predawn meal during the fast of Ramadan 171 172 Day 20 A Palestinian teenager was abducted from East Jerusalem and murdered Israeli police located the body within hours and arrested Israeli nationalist suspects several days later 173 The kidnapping and murder of Mohammed Abu Khdeir was soundly denounced by all of the families of the Israeli kidnapping victims as well as by many Israeli governmental and non governmental public figures Week 4 and on 4 July and after On 4 July Israel stated it was searching for a third suspect Husam Dofsh absent from his home since the kidnapping A relative Jihad Dofsh had blown himself up in a work accident in a Hamas explosives laboratory in Hebron and one of Qawasmeh s relatives had died in the same incident 78 Husam Dofsh was arrested in a Hebron coffee shop the following day after phoning an Israeli news site to protest his innocence 174 For about two weeks in July Israeli military preparations began for direct fighting inside of Gaza whilst Hamas rocket fire into Israel took place 175 The military publicly announced on 17 July that it would go into Gaza an intervention that caused at least 25 soldiers killed and scores injured on the Israeli side over the 20 to 21 July period 175 Public opinion in the nation is strongly divided with for example the newspaper Haaretz editorializing that the soft Gaza sand could turn into quicksand and warning about the wholesale killing of Palestinian civilians 176 The campaign in the Gaza is referred to by Israel as Operation Protective Edge On 20 August Hamas official Saleh Al Arouri spoke at the conference of the International Union of Muslim Scholars in Istanbul where he said the group s military wing was responsible for the kidnapping of the three Israeli teens saying it was an expression of popular will 177 Khaled Mashal the Hamas leader while recognizing that Hamas members were responsible attempted to distance his organization from the killing two days later Stating Hamas s opposition to killing civilians he said the leadership had no advance knowledge of the abduction which he regarded as a legitimate act by a frustrated people living under occupation and that it had only learnt of its details from Israeli investigations 178 In July demolition orders were handed out to the Qawasmeh and Abu Eisheh families and to Husam Ali Al Qawasmeh who was not a suspect in the killing but arrested for being a Hamas members Despite protests from human rights groups the families homes were demolished in August displacing 39 Palestinians 179 AftermathFollowing the kidnappings and the escalating firing of missiles by Palestinian militants towards civilians in southern Israel Israel decided to embark on Operation Protective Edge On 3 July 2014 the Israeli Air Force conducted 15 air strikes in Gaza directed at Hamas targets in response to a rocket attack from Palestinian militants The previous night fifteen Palestinians were injured in the IAF strikes and two buildings ruined 180 Operation Protective Edge became a ground war on 8 July 2014 On 11 July 2014 a series of bills in the United States Senate and the U S House of Representatives was launched attempting to solve the boys murder based upon Yaakov Naftali Fraenkel s dual US Israeli citizenship The new legislation would offer a 5 million reward for information on the abduction and murder 181 Accusations of collective punishmentOn Day 7 The Palestinian Authority declared that the Israeli modus operandi of clamping down on towns with closures and continual arrest of Hamas members constituted collective punishment 182 183 Amnesty International issued a statement on 19 June calling both for the release of the Israeli youths their humane treatment while being held and for Israel to lift several measures it defined as collective punishment in violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention and customary international humanitarian law 32 According to The Economist The Israeli security forces closed off the area around Hebron Some 23 000 local Palestinians were barred from travelling to their jobs in Israel A series of charitable organisations that used to be run by Hamas were closed down and a dairy which employs hundreds of Palestinians was demolished Hebronites were prevented from travelling abroad 184 In July 2014 the Geneva International Centre for Justice sent an urgent appeal to protest against the imminent house demolition of the homes of the extended families of the suspects and of Husam Ali Al Qawasmeh The demolitions which the Centre designated as collective punishment would affect 39 people 179 Two scholars rejected the claim that the actions constituted collective punishment Robbie Sabel a professor of international law at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and a former legal adviser to Israel s Foreign Ministry argued that Israel s actions shouldn t be considered collective punishment because they were aimed exclusively at finding the kidnapped teenagers and weakening the terrorist organizations behind their abduction and that in a search for kidnapped civilians the arrests of members affiliated with the organization responsible for the kidnapping is legitimate 185 Eugene Kontorovich international law professor at Northwestern University and Hebrew University said rounding up suspects or potential witnesses is not punishment but rather rudimentary investigative process especially when the crime is thought to be committed by a complex terror organization the number of potential witnesses is high Kontorovich cited as an example that police often arrest members of a gang after a crime to further investigate the perpetrators or criminal acts 185 Speculations on kidnapping motivesElhanan Miller writing for The Times of Israel speculated that the motive for the kidnapping could have been to force Israel to release a large number of prisoners in exchange for the three teens In 2011 Hamas had secured the release of over one thousand prisoners in exchange for Gilad Shalit whom they had captured five years prior 186 Some 300 prisoners went on a hunger strike against the Israeli practice of holding Palestinians in Administrative detention without charges for six months or more which Israel says is done in cases where the detainee poses an imminent security risk and publicizing the charges could endanger national security 187 188 Many Palestinians support the kidnapping of Israeli soldiers and civilians in order to obtain the release of these prisoners 187 189 In 2011 Israel released more than a thousand Palestinians in detention many convicted by Israeli courts for lethal attacks 190 in exchange for Gilad Shalit an Israeli soldier kidnapped by Palestinian militants 187 Some months before the 2014 incident an 18 page manual on abduction techniques was published by Hamas Entitled Guide for the Kidnapper it provided an operational guide that outlined the use of pistols with silencers the use of backup cars the choice of conducting the abductions on rainy days a command of Hebrew the renting of hideouts in areas to avoid arousing suspicions and suggestions to refrain from announcing the outcome of the kidnapping until the victims were secured in a safe house 106 The difficulty confronting the Izz ad Din al Qassam Brigades which has an ongoing debate on the issue is the coordination between the PNA and Israeli security services which makes executing such operations difficult 106 Several prior incidents such as the killings of Givati soldier Gal Gavriel Kobi and Baruch Mizrahi a police intelligence officer displayed exceptional high level skills strict compartmentalization and careful preparations for an escape route features shared by the kidnapping These elements resemble the carefully planned abductions of IDF soldiers by Hezbollah on Israel s northern border 66 Israel said that the IDF and the Shin Bet have foiled between 54 191 and 64 kidnapping plots since 2013 The PA said it had foiled 43 of them 148 The high success rate 95 in blocking such plots is due to the very close cooperation between the security forces of both sides 192 Hamas has put considerable effort into kidnapping attempts through its large network 56 A week into the search for the missing youth Avi Issacharoff cast doubts on the premise for West Bank operations which in his view targeted the weak since Hamas has neither a large or strong presence there and argued that the operational order if there was one came from either Gaza or abroad perhaps Ankara based deportee Saleh al Arouri or Khaled Mashaal who appeared to hint a month earlier in replying to a letter from an imprisoned Hamas leader after Netanyahu reneged on releasing a fourth group of Palestinian prisoners 183 that the Izz ad Din al Qassam Brigades would be his reply Issacharoff concluded however that There isn t a smoking gun to prove the Hamas leadership is complicit in the kidnapping 193 On 20 August a Hamas official identified the West Bank Qawasmeh clan a Hamas ally for the kidnapping of the three Israeli teens and shared their motives Saleh Al Arouri of the Hamas leadership delivered an address on behalf of Khaled Mashal at the conference of the International Union of Muslim Scholars in Istanbul In it he said Our goal was to ignite an intifada in the West Bank and Jerusalem as well as within the 1948 borders Your brothers in the Al Qassam Brigades carried out this operation to support their imprisoned brothers who were on a hunger strike The mujahideen captured these settlers in order to have a swap deal 194 Hitchhiking debate in IsraelAs events unfolded the dangerous nature of hitchhiking in what Israelis refer to as the territories prompted a debate regarded by some in the settler and religious Zionist communities as a kind of victim blaming 195 about the practice of hitching rides on roads in the Palestinian territories widely regarded as a cavalier and irresponsible habit for the costs involved in redeeming anyone who is captured 187 190 The normal Israeli practice is one where drivers pull up declaring their destination and by their accent allowing potential hikers at trempiada hitchhiking stations an opportunity to examine the clues before they accept or decline a lift 187 Such hitchhiking has long been a hallowed method of travel among Israelis citation needed but as abductions and killings of hitchhikers mainly IDF soldiers began to take root in the 1980s citation needed one incident in October 1994 led to the passage of regulations that forbade military personnel from resorting to this method of travel citation needed To hammer the message home recruits doing basic training are required now to view snuff films that highlight the dangers and military police abduct and punish recruits who do not take it seriously 195 Israeli governments have not regulated civilian recourse to hitchhiking and laws delegate responsibility to parents expecting them to advise their children 187 The practice however remains widespread among the dati leumi community of religious Zionists for several reasons many of them as in this case have children boarding in West Bank settlements where public transport facilities are poor citation needed Haaretz reported that for mitzvah observant adolescents it is a rite of passage a way of life a declaration of independence and of ownership of the land 195 Retired Brigadier General Nitzan Nuriel a former counter terrorism officer in the Prime Minister s Office declared on Israeli television that hitchhiking had an ideological edge it made a statement about who owns the territory 190 Reactions nbsp Israel One anonymous Israeli government official stated to Reuters news agency that Israel was looking to use the search as an opportunity for a wider crackdown on Hamas and were looking into the legal aspects of deporting Hamas leaders from the West Bank 196 A Hebrew language Facebook page calling on PM Netanyahu to assume his responsibilities and requesting that a Palestinian terrorist be executed every hour until the three youths are restored to their families gained 10 000 thumb ups within hours 197 198 With a perception in Israel expressed by Thane Rosenbaum that the sympathy long lavished on Israel was dwindling 199 the government stepped up hasbara efforts abroad especially in Brazil where the 2014 FIFA World Cup was then the focus of much of the world s attention An aircraft trailed a BringBackOurBoys banner along a Rio de Janeiro beach The families of the missing boys went to Geneva to address the UN s Human Rights Council 200 On television Netanyahu declared that Anyone trying to harm Israeli civilians will be harmed in return 104 Israel s Economic Minister Naftali Bennett said Israel will make membership of Hamas a ticket to hell branding it one of the most lethal barbaric organizations in the world Both the PA and Hamas he affirmed formed a complete culture where Israel is perceived as Satan 201 15 June Moshe Ya alon cited the kidnapping as additional testimony to the cruelty and seething hatred that guides the terror groups in our region 64 Israel has decided to perform a root canal to uproot everything green in the West Bank reported on Israel s Army Radio green being the colour of Hamas citation needed Israel s ambassador to Italy Naor Gilon declared that Europe backs Hamas government and the kidnapping of children and Israeli civilians 202 We re witnessing the unrestrained brutality of Islamic terrorism both in Israel and around us Netanyahu to Ban Ki moon 138 Not only are the kidnappers terrorists but so is Hanin Zoabi Avigdor Liberman writing in Facebook of his Knesset colleague 203 Rabbi Dov Lior said the abduction was God s punishment for anti religious legislation in the Knesset and Israel s readiness to abandon parts of the Land of Israel Yuval Diskin countered If so why did God arrange for religious boys to be kidnapped if he was angry with secular Israelis 204 The Haredi Yated Ne eman claimed that government policies aimed at drafting yeshiva students into the army against their will was the cause of the abductions 205 15 June Jews and Muslims who work fields as part of the Shorashim Judhur cooperative project near where the kidnapping took place met and discussed their distress for several hours 206 17 June Jews many from the Gush Etzion and Muslims held a joint prayer session at the kidnapping site Rabbi Michael Melchior said Islamic clerics were concerned and demanded the youths immediate release and Israel s distress was shared by Palestinians Jerusalem Sheikh Ibrahim Al Hawa recited the Al Fatiha chapter of the Quran adding that there is a wall between our two nations and we hope to remove the wall separating the hearts of humans 206 In an interview with Globes Yishai Fraenkel uncle of the missing Naftali Fraenkel recounted that he had received no few messages of support and encouragement from Palestinian sources who had said they were repulsed by the kidnapping and were praying for the boys welfare 207 Human rights organization B Tselem condemned the kidnapping of the three students and called for their immediate release saying any deliberate attack against civilians is absolutely prohibited They also cautioned Israeli authorities to uphold human rights and avoid collective punishment of the local population in their efforts to bring the students home safely 208 Later B Tselem condemned the killing of the three students by saying deliberate targeting of civilians undermines all moral legal and human principles The deliberate killing of civilians is defined as a grave breach of international humanitarian law and cannot be justified regardless of the circumstances 209 Knesset Member Hanin Zoabi a Palestinian stated that the kidnappers were not terrorists but frustrated people resorting to such measures until the citizens of Israel and the public sober up and relate to the suffering of others mentioning the mothers of Palestinians who are being detained without trial 210 Three Israeli teenagers were kidnapped but the two Palestinian kids who were killed on Friday were not even mentioned in your broadcast The blood of Jews is more precious than the blood of Palestinians Hanin Zoabi 203 On 1 July 2014 settlers started two new outposts one on a hilltop in the E1 area near Ma ale Adumim and the other near Halhul 211 In late August the IDF acting on political instruction 212 announced it was confiscating 988 acres 1 54 square miles of privately owned Palestinian land south of Bethlehem 213 214 as a response to the killing of the teens Naftali Bennett described the move as an appropriate Zionist response to murder adding What we did yesterday was a display of Zionism Building is our answer to murder 212 215 216 The U S rebuked the move as counter productive while France condemned it and Britain deplored the decision stating that it would seriously damage Israel s international reputation 216 Defining the area as state land rather than private Palestinian land was hailed by the Gush Etzion settlements council as an opportunity to build up Gva ot an illegal Israeli settlement of 16 families 213 215 Robert Fisk stated that it was the first time Palestinian land had been seized not on God s warrant or security grounds or because of deed of title but for revenge a measure which set a dangerous precedent 217 Social media in Israel nbsp Bring back our boys on Jerusalem bus June 2014 A social media campaign was started soon after the kidnapping advocating for the safe return of the teens under the hashtag BringBackOurBoys According to Robert Mackey the campaign was initiated by a group of Israelis trained to promote their country online 218 The campaign s label attempted to make the link between the then recent BringBackOurGirls campaign following the Chibok schoolgirl kidnapping in Nigeria One of the organizers stated the social media effort is simply a cry out to the world to bring those boys back adding that We re only trying to do whatever we can to help the international community to put pressure to release those kids 219 On 15 June around 25 000 people gathered for a prayer at the Western Wall for the release of the kidnapped teenagers 220 Violent Israeli reactions On the night of 1 July a Palestinian family registered a complaint at police concerning an attempt to kidnap their child 10 year old Moussa Zalum on Shu fat s main street in Jerusalem At the time they reported he was walking with his mother and brother when a car stopped and people tried to pull him into the vehicle The child managed to wriggle free and the car sped off 221 After the bodies of the three boys were found settlers attacks on Palestinians in the West Bank were reported Settlers from Tel Rumeida in Hebron were in the streets attacking Palestinians and internationals The Border Police stormed the hill towards the gathered crowd of Palestinians and internationals exploded a sound grenade and injured a Palestinian in the following clash 211 Main article Kidnapping and murder of Mohammed Abu Khdeir On 2 July a 16 year old Palestinian from Shu fat camp Mohammed Abu Khdeir was killed preliminary results from the autopsy suggest he was burnt alive The boy s family believes the killing to be an act of revenge from Jewish settlers for the murder of the three Israeli teenagers 222 Netanyahu urged a swift inquiry into the reprehensible murder and called on people to respect the rule of law 223 On the evening of 3 July Palestinians of Shu fat reported to the Israeli police that four settlers from Pisgat Zeev had attempted to kidnap a 7 year old local child and had fled on being thwarted 224 On Friday Palestinians of Osarin near Nablus in the West Bank complained that one of them 22 year old Tariq Ziad Zuhdi Adeli had been sprayed with a gas by settlers abducted in a car taken outside the village and then sustained injuries from a hatchet attack to his legs 225 Three days later a video was aired that appeared as the beating up of 15 year old American citizen Tariq Abu Khdeir by Israeli security forces Tariq a second cousin of murdered Mohammed Abu Khdeir is a student who attends Universal Academy of Florida high school in Tampa Florida 226 227 228 Israeli authorities then detained Tariq The US State Department called for a speedy transparent and credible investigation and full accountability for any excessive use of force 229 Israeli Border Police started an official investigation on 5 July 230 nbsp Palestine Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas defying widespread popular Palestinian support for the kidnapping as a means of securing the release of Palestinians held in Israeli jails 186 criticized the action saying the youths must be returned 231 and that Palestinian Authority security was cooperating with Israel to try to locate them 232 Abbas office released a statement condemning the kidnapping and the Israeli response of raids and arrests 196 At US urging Abbas was working closely with Israel to coordinate the search for the teens 233 A PA spokesman stated that holding Palestinian authorities responsible for kidnappings in Area C of the West Bank where Israel exercises full military control and prohibits a Palestinian police presence places the PA in an impossible position 90 The Palestinian Authority s official newspaper marked the kidnapping with a cartoon that spoofed the World Cup logo Three hands hold the globe in the FIFA World Cup logo but in Al Hayat Al Jadida three hands held small helpless figures with their hands up in surrender While the World Cup logo says Brazil under it the spoof says Khalil the Arabic name for Hebron a city near the site of the kidnapping 234 A cartoon on a Fatah Facebook page presented the three kidnapped Israeli teenagers as rats caught on three hooks on a fishing rod Each rat was emblazoned with a Star of David and the title of the cartoon read Masterstroke A picture on the same Facebook page showed a hand with words written on three of the fingers Read in succession they said Three Shalits long live Palestine 234 235 236 Hamas spokesmen Sami Abu Zuhri and Fawzi Barhoum criticized the PNA collaboration with Israel to track down the culprits 237 and Barhoum called the kidnappers heroes 189 238 In social media many Palestinians criticized what they see as the strong emphasis placed by Israel on the teenagers disappearance to the detriment of Palestinian suffering citing the case of two Palestinian boys shot dead by Israelis at a protest in Beitunia during a Nakba Day protest on 15 May 2014 69 On Twitter in response to the IDF campaign Palestinian sympathizers appropriated the hashtag as their own drawing attention to both Palestinian prisoners in Israeli goals and Palestinian children killed by Israeli actions One mentioned 5 271 Palestinian political prisoners 192 administrative detainees 17 women and 196 children 239 Senior Hamas and Islamic Jihad officials have stated that kidnapping Israeli soldiers and settlers is the only route to obtain the release of Palestinian prisoners 240 Palestinian Fatah and Hamas activists called on Palestinian shopkeepers and businessmen in Hebron via Facebook Twitter and other social media to destroy any CCTV footage that could be used by Israel to help locate the teens Fatah activists in Hebron also confiscated security cameras in order to frustrate the search 241 In the Gaza Strip families of Palestinians imprisoned by Israel celebrated the kidnapping by handing out sweets to passersby from a protest tent that had been erected to express solidarity 241 242 Gazan Palestinians also released a song on social networks mocking the kidnappings and called for additional abductions 243 A Palestinian group mounted a video on YouTube parodying the abduction in a fictional scenario featuring an Abu Saqer el Khalili Brigades the Kick Ass Branch apparently taking the event to be an Israeli plot with Arab complicity while mocking Islamic extremism 244 Hamas parliamentarian Salah Bardawil We are capable of igniting a third Intifada which is an irrevocable right that will go off when more pressure is exerted on the Palestinian people citation needed I don t plan to punish anyone based on suspicions or because Netanyahu claims something If Netanyahu has information he should update me and we ll take care of it according to our laws Mahmoud Abbas 148 The world cannot stand by while Israel the occupying power commits such grave breaches of international law Hanan Ashrawi 142 International nbsp United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki moon released a statement condemning the abduction expressing deep concern on the trend toward violence on the ground and attendant loss of life including today of a child in Gaza as a result of a recent Israeli airstrike He expressed solidarity with the families of the abducted called for their immediate release and called for restraint on both sides 245 246 247 After the dead bodies were found Ban Ki moon condemned the murders of the three Israeli teenagers calling them a heinous act by enemies of peace that aim to entrench division and distrust and widen the Middle East conflict 248 In response to proposals in the Security Council to make a statement to the press condemning the kidnapping and the collective punishment and deaths of Palestinians no agreement could be found 249 the US representative Samantha Power said that any direct criticism of Israel in the statement would constitute a red line for Americans 250 nbsp United States said that it was very concerned about the well being of the teens and that it was working with Israel and the Palestinian Authority to resolve the situation 251 After the dead bodies of the three teenagers were found the US Secretary of State John Kerry made a statement saying the news of the murder of these three Israeli teenagers Naftali Fraenkel Gilad Shaar and Eyal Yifrach is simply devastating We all had so much hope that this story would not end this way President of the United States Barack Obama responded to the deaths by sending his condolences to the families of the teenagers and condemning the senseless act of terror against innocent youth 248 nbsp Canada s Foreign Minister John Baird expressed deep concern over the event and urged Palestinian security authorities who have been trained through Canadian and US leadership to make every effort to ensure the safe return of the children to their families 251 nbsp United Kingdom After the dead bodies of the three teenagers were found Prime Minister David Cameron described their deaths as an appalling and inexcusable act of terror 252 nbsp France President Francois Hollande released a statement saying he was shocked strongly condemn ed the cowardly murder s and extend ed his sincere condolences to their families and to the Israeli people and authorities 253 He attended that he express ed his concern in the face of the increased violence in the West Bank and Gaza condemn ed the rocket fire from Gaza into Israeli territory and call ed for everything to be done to prevent any further casualties and the risk of an escalation of violence 253 nbsp Spain condemned the kidnapping along with Palestinian rocket attacks on Israel and called for restraint 251 nbsp Netherlands After the dead bodies of the three teenagers were found Dutch Foreign Minister Frans Timmermans issued a statement saying that the Dutch government heard the news of the murder with profound sadness and horror These boys were in the prime of their lives and have been the victim of a horrific crime The government of the Netherlands hopes that their killers will be apprehended soon and brought to justice 248 nbsp European Union s ambassador to Israel tweeted that he was deeply concerned about the events and was hoping for the safe return of the teens 251 Catherine Ashton s office condemned the kidnapping after five days in the wake of Israeli official expressions of disappointment 254 On 28 June the EU reiterated its call for the safe return of the youths It regretted the increasing violence particularly the killing of several Palestinians and called on Israel to only use proportionate means in its search It praised the Palestinian security services for their help in searching for the abductees and condemned Hamas for praising the kidnapping 255 After the dead bodies of the three teenagers were found the EU s ambassador to Israel Lars Faaborg Andersen tweeted that he sent condolences to the Israeli government on the despicable murders with hope that perpetrators are soon arrested 248 nbsp Egypt s foreign ministry released a statement asking Israel to stop what it called its collective punishment of the Palestinian people after it bombed dozens of sites in the Gaza Strip a day after the bodies of three missing Israeli teenagers were found Egypt urged the Israeli forces to practice restraint and allow the Palestinian authorities to take on its responsibility in tracking the culprits it also renewed its condemnation for all forms of violence that cause the death of civilians on both sides 256 nbsp Colombia s Foreign Ministry released a statement condemning the assassination of the 3 teenagers that had previously been kidnapped on 12 June while on the same statement declaring the murder as an act of terrorism Colombia expressed its condolences to the families of the victims and called to reflect and ponder on this difficult moments in accordance to international rights 257 nbsp Nigeria s President Goodluck Jonathan wrote to Netanyahu I assure you that we are in solidarity with you as we believe that any act of terrorism against any nation or group is an act against our common humanity We unequivocally condemn this dastardly act and demand that the children are released unconditionally by their abductors 258 nbsp Holy See The Vatican condemned the killing of three Israeli teenagers in the West Bank as a hideous and unacceptable crime and an obstacle to peace calling the news of the deaths terrible and dramatic 259 Quartet envoy Tony Blair posted a tweet saying that the abduction and killing of these three young people was a heinous and wicked thing to do 248 Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman said that Germany France Britain Belgium Bulgaria and Norway all condemned the kidnapping of three Israelis in phone conversations with him 248 See also nbsp Israel portal nbsp Palestine portal 2014 in Israel 2014 in the Palestinian territories Death and ransoming of Oron Shaul Killing of Avi Sasportas and Ilan Saadon Hamas 1989 Kidnapping and murder of Nissim Toledano Hamas 1992 Kidnapping and murder of Yaron Chen Hamas 1993 Kidnapping and murder of Nachshon Wachsman Hamas 1994 References a b c d Erdman Shelby Lin Israeli authorities identify the suspects in teens kidnapping CNN Retrieved 29 June 2014 Israel IDs 2 main suspects in teens disappearance CBS News 26 June 2014 Human Rights and Democracy Report 2013 UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office 10 April 2014 Archived from the original on 10 May 2015 Retrieved 28 June 2017 PCHR Annual Report 2013 PDF Retrieved 11 February 2024 2013 Annual Summary Israel Security Agency 2013 Archived from the original on 9 February 2017 Retrieved 15 August 2014 WEEKLY REPORT 1 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disappearance of settlers Ma an News Agency 13 June 2014 Archived from the original on 16 June 2014 Retrieved 15 June 2014 a b Bryant Christa Case 19 June 2014 Israel s search for kidnapped teens What is known so far and what it means The Christian Science Monitor a b Issacharoff Avi How did the Shin Bet fail to spot the Hebron kidnap cell in time The Times of Israel Issacharoff Avi 27 June 2014 In Hebron the IDF discovers it s all too easy to disappear The Times of Israel Gurvitz Yossi 17 June 2014 Israeli Hostages Gag Orders and Social Media Worldcrunch Hartman Ben 15 June 2014 One of abducted Israeli teens called police We ve been kidnapped The Jerusalem Post Harel Amos 22 June 2014 Don t expect a happy ending from Israel s West Bank operation Haaretz a b c Beaumont Peter 15 June 2014 Israeli forces tighten grip on West Bank in search for three abducted teenagers The Guardian a b Hartman Ben Harkov Lahav Lappin Yaakov 1 July 2014 LISTEN Recording of kidnapped teen s distress call to police released The Jerusalem Post a b Eldar Shlomi 3 July 2014 Israeli public misled on abductions Al Monitor a b Issacharoff Avi Sterman Adiv 4 July 2014 Israel hunting third Hamas operative missing since night teens were killed The Times of Israel Schwegel Justin 8 July 2014 How Israel Turned Tragedy into Opportunity Asia Times Online Archived from the original on 8 July 2014 a href Template Cite news html title Template Cite news cite news a CS1 maint unfit URL link a b Zitun Yoav 15 June 2014 Infantry battalion deployed to Hebron IDF calls in reservists Ynetnews 3 injured by rubber coated bullets in Beit Ummar clashes Ma an News Agency 17 June 2014 Archived from the original on 17 June 2014 Retrieved 17 June 2014 Rayner Tom 15 June 2014 Israel Searches For Kidnapped Teen Settlers Sky News Torched car near Hebron may have served kidnappers The Times of Israel 14 June 2014 Israeli security forces ramp up hunt for Hamas cell in West Bank Haaretz 16 June 2014 Beaumont Peter 16 June 2014 Israel Leaders Considering Expelling Hamas Leaders from the West Bank to Gaza The Guardian Khoury Jack 17 June 2014 Hebron area out of bounds to US officials after kidnapping Haaretz Levy Gideon 19 June 2014 Israel s double standard Haaretz a b Lappin Yaakov 17 June 2014 Search for kidnapped boys enters fifth day IDF arrests 41 in night operation The Jerusalem Post Ellis Ralph Schwartz Michael 15 June 2014 Israeli PM Netanyahu says Hamas abducted 3 teenagers CNN a b Booth William 15 June 2014 Israel accuses Hamas of abducting 3 teens The Washington Post a b 3 Palestinians injured after Israeli army bombs Hebron home Ma an News Agency 15 June 2014 a b c d IDF chief We re heading towards an extensive operation Ynetnews 16 June 2014 Rudoren Jodi 15 June 2014 Netanyahu Says Three Were Taken by Hamas The New York Times Tait Robert 15 June 2014 Hamas kidnapping Islamist group to blame for youths kidnapping Benjamin Netanyahu says The Telegraph Israeli raids target Hamas members as Netanyahu accuses group of kidnapping The Guardian Jerusalem Associated Press 15 June 2014 Retrieved 16 June 2014 Israeli forces ransack offices confiscate computers in Jenin Ma an News Agency 16 June 2014 Archived from the original on 18 June 2014 Retrieved 16 June 2014 Israeli forces kill Palestinian during raids Al Jazeera 17 June 2014 Photos of the Day The San Francisco Chronicle AP 16 June 2014 Rudoren Jodi 16 June 2014 Israel Demands Palestinian Leader s Help After Abductions The New York Times Harel Amos 17 June 2014 Israel s response to kidnapping aimed at driving a wedge between Abbas and Hamas Haaretz Estrin Daniel 17 June 2014 Israel Leader Wants World Pressure on Palestinians ABC News Issacharoff Avi 16 June 2014 PA official Unity pact is void if Hamas carried out kidnapping The Times of Israel a b Blachier Gregory 20 June 2014 Anger but no uprising over Israeli raids Palestinian minister Reuters if Hamas is behind it and nobody knows up until now then it will be a blow to the reconciliation process If we reach that conclusion then the president will take drastic decisions a b c d Zitun Yoav 17 June 2014 Operation Bring Back Our Brothers IDF arrests 200 shift focus to Nablus Ynetnews IDF Uncovers Weapons Caches in Search for Teens News CBN 17 June 2014 a b c Bar el Zvi 16 June 2014 Egypt cooperating with Israeli search efforts for kidnapped teens while Hamas faces catch 22 Haaretz Sources Israel asked Egypt to help find kidnapped teens Ma an News Agency 16 June 2014 Archived from the original on 25 October 2014 Retrieved 16 June 2014 Zitun Yoav 18 June 2014 IDF arrests 51 prisoners released in Shalit deal Ynetnews Israeli army arrests over 50 Palestinians released in Shalit deal Ma an News Agency 18 June 2014 Archived from the original on 19 June 2014 Retrieved 18 June 2014 a b Donzis Aron Ho Spencer 18 June 2014 Israel scoops up 51 Palestinians freed under Shalit deal The Times of Israel UN Mideast peace envoy condemns Israel s arrest campaign Ma an News Agency 20 June 2014 Archived from the original on 25 June 2014 Retrieved 20 June 2014 Hebron losses 10m daily during siege Ma an News Agency 20 June 2014 Archived from the original on 26 June 2014 Retrieved 20 June 2014 Israel vows to tighten ring around kidnappers as it targets Hamas infrastructure The Jerusalem Post 20 June 2014 30 new arrests as Israel presses West Bank hunt for teens AFP 20 June 2014 Archived from the original on 20 June 2014 Israel detains 49 in large scale West Bank arrest raids Ma an News Agency 20 June 2014 Archived from the original on 25 June 2014 Retrieved 21 June 2014 a b c Rudoren Jodi 20 June 2014 Israeli Troops Kill Palestinian Teenager Protesting West Bank Arrests The New York Times One of them crouched and opened fire on the boy said Bassam al Awadeh 42 who said he watched from about 150 yards 140 m away The boy was hit in his heart and his abdomen a b c 5 injured 30 detained as Israeli forces storm Duheisha camp Ma an News Agency 20 June 2014 Archived from the original on 26 June 2014 Retrieved 20 June 2014 Israeli forces raid Ibdaa cultural center in Bethlehem Ma an News Agency 22 June 2014 Archived from the original on 27 June 2014 Retrieved 22 June 2014 5 injured 30 detained as Israeli forces storm Duheisha camp Ma an News Agency 20 June 2014 Archived from the original on 26 June 2014 Retrieved 20 June 2014 Medical sources said that Malek Mustafa al Sharif 22 was wounded by rubber coated steel bullets during the clashes In addition an Israeli military patrol vehicle ran over four youths from the camp including Musa al Khamour 22 Hassan Mujahid Abu Joudah and Marcel Mahmoud Zaghout 19 who was arrested after he was struck in the head by the vehicle The fourth injured individual was not immediately identified Booth William 17 June 2014 Israeli troops kill 2 Palestinians during search for Israeli students in occupied West Bank The Washington Post Retrieved 21 June 2014 2nd Palestinian youth dies after being shot by Israeli forces Ma an News Agency 20 June 2014 Archived from the original on 25 June 2014 Retrieved 24 June 2014 Palestinian shot Friday succumbs to wounds Ma an News Agency 25 June 2014 Archived from the original on 14 July 2014 Retrieved 25 June 2014 a b Levy Elior Zitun Yoav 20 June 2014 Palestinian teen said killed in clashes with IDF as army arrests 25 more suspects in West Bank Ynetnews a b c 13 year old Palestinian shot dead by Israeli forces in Dura Ma an News Agency 20 June 2014 Archived from the original on 12 January 2015 Retrieved 20 June 2014 Palestinian killed in students hunt Irish Independent AP 20 June 2014 Levy Gideon Levac Alec 28 June 2014 The Palestinian teen whose death went unnoticed by Israel Haaretz The first group of soldiers made do with firing tear gas and stun grenades at the large numbers of young people on the streets A little after 5 A M the last group of soldiers started to leave the town Suddenly one of the soldiers in the rear of the column aimed his rifle and fired live ammunition at the youngsters at a range of about 80 meters a b Palestinian FM Israel overreacting on abducted teens Ynetnews news AFP 20 June 2014 Israeli forces raid Arab American University in Jenin Ma an 20 June 2014 Archived from the original on 26 June 2014 Retrieved 20 June 2014 Noose tightening around kidnappers teens still in West Bank The Times of Israel 20 June 2014 a b Zitun Yoav 21 June 2014 IDF surrounds villages near Hebron increases troop presence Ynetnews Israeli troops raid Bethlehem s biggest charitable society Ma an News Agency 21 June 2014 Archived from the original on 3 July 2014 Retrieved 21 June 2014 Palestinian man dies of heart attack as Israeli troops raid home Ma an News Agency 20 June 2014 Archived from the original on 26 June 2014 Retrieved 21 June 2014 Israel rejects responsibility for elderly Palestinian s death Ma an News Agency 21 June 2014 Archived from the original on 2 July 2014 Retrieved 21 June 2014 Ongoing arrest campaign brings total Palestinians in jail to 5 700 Ma an News Agency 21 June 2014 Archived from the original on 26 June 2014 Retrieved 21 June 2014 Two residents of the village also accused Israeli troops of stealing money from their homes during predawn raids Saturday Samir Haymouni told Ma an that Israeli troops stole 15 000 shekels 4 300 in addition to damaging all of his furniture Similarly Hatim Asafra said that Israeli soldiers stole 2 500 shekels 725 from his apartment Israeli forces storm al Bireh clash with young men Ma an News Agency 21 June 2014 Archived from the original on 3 July 2014 Retrieved 21 June 2014 a b Zitun Yoav 21 June 2014 Rescue units rushed to Hebron searching wells and caves Ynetnews 3 Palestinians injured in overnight Israeli raids in Nablus Ma an News Agency 21 June 2014 Archived from the original on 3 July 2014 Retrieved 21 June 2014 a b c Zitun Yoav 21 June 2014 We re witnessing the unrestrained brutality of Islamic terrorism Ynetnews a b 38 detained in West Bank raids on Sunday bringing total above 400 Ma an News Agency 22 June 2014 Archived from the original on 25 June 2014 Retrieved 22 June 2014 The list notes 16 from Hebron 19 from Bethlehem and three from Jenin Israeli forces raid Al Quds University Ma an News Agency 22 June 2014 Archived from the original on 25 June 2014 Retrieved 22 June 2014 PCHR condemns army killing of mentally disabled man Ma an News Agency 22 June 2014 Archived from the original on 1 July 2014 Retrieved 22 June 2014 a b c Rudoren Jodi 22 June 2014 Israeli Youth Dies in Attack Near Syrian Border The New York Times Zitun Yoav 22 June 2014 Two Palestinians killed during clashes with IDF nine arrested overnight Ynetnews Israeli forces kill 2 Palestinians in Ramallah and Nablus overnight Ma an News Agency 22 June 2014 Archived from the original on 25 June 2014 Retrieved 22 June 2014 Two Palestinians one Israeli boy killed in separate clashes Los Angeles Times 22 June 2014 Autopsy proves slain Palestinian killed by Israeli fire in Ramallah Ma an News Agency 22 June 2014 Archived from the original on 1 July 2014 Retrieved 22 June 2014 Israeli settlers open fire at mourners in Ramallah 1 hurt Ma an News Agency 22 June 2014 Archived from the original on 25 June 2014 Retrieved 22 June 2014 a b c Abbas calls on Netanyahu to condemn Palestinian deaths The Times of Israel 22 June 2014 Miller Elhanan 22 June 2014 Palestinians Turning to UN Security Council to Halt West Bank Raids The Times of Israel Israel detains 37 Palestinians as arrest operation continues Ma an News Agency 23 June 2014 Archived from the original on 1 July 2014 Retrieved 14 August 2016 West Bank crackdown to end in days Ma an News Agency 23 June 2014 Archived from the original on 1 July 2014 Retrieved 23 June 2014 a b c Israeli forces raid Hebron district overnight arrest 13 Ma an News Agency 24 June 2014 Archived from the original on 29 June 2014 Retrieved 24 June 2014 Fiske Gavriel 24 June 2014 Four arrested overnight in West Bank as sweep continues The Times of Israel Levy Elior Zitun Yoav Somfalvi Attila 24 June 2014 Hebron returning to normal as Shin Bet looks for new leads on kidnapped teens Ynetnews Zitun Yoav 24 June 2014 IDF Chief As time passes concerns grow regarding fate of boys Ynetnews Number of Palestinian children in Israeli jails surpasses 250 Ma an News Agency 24 June 2014 Archived from the original on 28 June 2014 Retrieved 24 June 2014 Over the past decade Israeli forces have arrested interrogated and prosecuted around 7 000 children between 12 and 17 mostly boys at a rate of an average of two children each day UNICEF said Yoav Zitun 25 June 2014 Video Hamas operative s arrest through the lens of the Skylark UAV Ynetnews a b Israeli forces detain Palestinian lawmakers Hamas leaders overnight Ma an News Agency 25 June 2014 Archived from the original on 4 July 2014 Retrieved 26 June 2014 23 Palestinian members of parliament in Israeli jails Ma an News Agency 25 June 2014 Archived from the original on 27 June 2014 Retrieved 26 June 2014 Israeli forces shoot and injure Palestinian near Hebron Ma an News Agency 25 June 2014 Archived from the original on 6 July 2014 Retrieved 26 June 2014 Israel identifies two suspects in case of kidnapped teens The Telegraph UK Retrieved 29 June 2014 78 year old woman dies of heart attack during Israeli raid Ma an News Agency 26 June 2014 Archived from the original on 14 July 2014 Retrieved 26 June 2014 Israeli forces shoot injure Palestinian at Hebron checkpoint Ma an News Agency 26 June 2014 Archived from the original on 14 July 2014 Retrieved 26 June 2014 Israel raids Nablus without notifying Palestinian security Ma an News Agency 26 June 2014 Archived from the original on 14 July 2014 Retrieved 26 June 2014 Group 566 Palestinians detained since Israeli campaign began Ma an News Agency 26 June 2014 Archived from the original on 1 July 2014 Retrieved 26 June 2014 Bodies of three kidnapped teens found The Times of Israel 30 June 2014 a b Cohen Gili Ravid Barak Khoury Jack 30 June 2014 Israeli forces find bodies of three kidnapped teens Haaretz live updates IDF finds missing teens bodies in West Bank Ynetnews 30 June 2014 PA Arabs attack IDF ambulance carrying teens bodies 30 June 2014 Retrieved 1 July 2014 Rudoren Jodi Kershner Isabel 30 June 2014 Israel s Search for 3 Teenagers Ends in Grief The New York Times Deitch Ian 1 July 2014 As Israel buries teens airstrikes target Hamas AP Lewis Ori 1 July 2014 Israel mourns teenagers strikes Hamas in Gaza Reuters Shin Bet forces arrest six in connection with Palestinian teens killing Israel News Archived from the original on 14 July 2014 Retrieved 7 July 2014 Sterman Adiv 6 July 2014 Suspected accomplice in 3 teens killings arrested The Times of Israel a b The Gaza War 2014 Jerusalem Center For Public Affairs Retrieved 13 November 2016 ABC News International ABC News Retrieved 23 September 2014 Orlando Crowcroft Hamas official we were behind the kidnapping of three Israeli teenagers The Guardian 21 August 2014 Hamas We wouldn t target civilians if we had better weapons Haaretz 23 August 2014 a b Collective punishment in Palestine 17 July 2014 Live updates July 2 Israel strikes Gaza Sderot hit by rocket Haaretz 3 July 2014 Retrieved 4 July 2014 US representative Doug Lamborn said Naftali Frenkel was an American citizen who was killed by terrorists and the United States should not rest until his killers are brought to justice amazingly the Obama administration still supports this terrorist Palestinian government even after the death of an American citizen Dvorin Tova 11 July 2014 US Bill to Offer 5 Million Reward for Tips on Teens Abduction israelnationalnews com News Arutz Sheva Retrieved 14 July 2014 Newsman Marissa 19 June 2014 PA accuses Israel of collective punishment in West Bank The Times of Israel a b Oren Amir 20 June 2014 West Bank kidnapping exposes Israel s disjointed security establishment Haaretz Israelis and Palestinians A vicious circle speeds up again The Economist a b Ahren Raphael 23 June 2014 Is Israel s operation to find kidnapped teens a war crime The Times of Israel Retrieved 27 June 2014 a b Miller Elhanan 17 June 2014 Mahmoud Abbas s prisoner dilemma The Times of Israel Retrieved 4 July 2014 a b c d e f Bryant Christa Case 14 June 2014 Why were kidnapped Israeli teens hitchhiking in the West Bank The Christian Science Monitor I24NEWS a b al Jammal Yusri 15 June 2014 Fearing three teens abducted Israel escalates West Bank search with Abbas help UK Reuters a b c Kershner Isabel 16 June 2014 Abduction of Young Israeli Hitchhikers Spurs Debate on Conduct The New York Times al Ghoul Asmaa 19 June 2014 Could Kidnapping of Israeli Boys Lead to Intifada U S News amp World Report Ya alon added that in 2013 more than 30 kidnapping attempts were foiled and another 14 attempts since the beginning of this year Harel Amos 26 June 2014 Bibi and the Lost Boys Foreign Policy Since the end of the Second Intifada around 2005 Israelis have grown to expect a success rate of almost 95 percent in stopping terrorist attacks before they occur Most terror suspects in the West Bank are either arrested before they manage to do anything or immediately thereafter A major reason for this success has been the very close cooperation between Israel and Palestinian security officials a relationship both sides prefer to keep as low profile as possible Issacharoff Avi 20 June 2014 A week of raids and arrests but no hard lead to the kidnappers The Times of Israel MEMRI TV MEMRI Retrieved 11 February 2024 a b c Pfeffer Anshel 15 June 2014 Abductions won t stop settlers from hitchhiking Haaretz a b Sawafta Ali Israel expands West Bank hunt for missing teens Palestinian killed Reuters Retrieved 16 June 2014 Thousands join online campaign to kill Palestinian terrorists Maariv Ma an News Agency 15 June 2014 Archived from the original on 18 June 2014 Retrieved 16 June 2014 Dearden Lizzie Facebook campaign calls on Israelis to kill a Palestinian terrorist every hour until missing teenagers found The Independent Archived from the original on 1 May 2022 Retrieved 16 June 2014 Rosenbaum Thane 23 June 2014 The world s cruel indifference to Israel s plight Haaretz Eichner Itamar 23 June 2014 Missing teens families to address UN Human Rights Council Ynetnews Fiske Gavriel 17 June 2014 Bennett promises ticket to hell for Hamas members The Times of Israel Israeli ambassador Europe supports kidnapping children Ma an News Agency 19 June 2014 Archived from the original on 14 July 2014 Retrieved 20 June 2014 a b Hanin Zoabi IDF operation in West Bank is terrorism The Times of Israel 21 June 2014 Siegel Meir Halevi 19 June 2014 Rav Dov Lior Abduction was Divine Punishment The Jewish Press Sharon Jeremy 19 June 2014 Haredi daily Kidnappings result of government organized abductions of Torah students The Jerusalem Post a b Miller Elhanan 17 June 2014 At kidnapping site Jews and Muslims join in prayer The Times of Israel Shay Izhar 17 June 2014 Palestinians tell me they re repulsed by the kidnapping Globes Retrieved 18 June 2014 Those holding the three yeshiva students must release them at once Israeli security forces must uphold human rights and avoid collective punishment B Tselem 15 June 2014 B Tselem strongly condemns the abduction and killing of the three Yeshiva students B Tselem 30 June 2014 Ho Spencer 17 June 2014 MK assailed for saying kidnappers not terrorists The Times of Israel Retrieved 10 July 2014 a b CPT Palestine responds to incidents occurring after teenagers bodies discovered Al Khalil Hebron CPT 1 July 2014 Archived from the original on 8 July 2014 Retrieved 5 July 2014 a b AFP Israel plans to expropriate 400 hectares of West Bank army says Archived 4 September 2014 at the Wayback Machine Yahoo News 1 September 2014 a b Israel confiscates 1 000 acres of Palestinian land south of Bethlehem Archived 1 September 2014 at the Wayback Machine Ma an News Agency 31 August 2014 Renee Lewis Israel confiscates nearly 1 000 acres of Palestinian land in the West Bank Al Jazeera 31 August 2014 a b Peter Beaumont Huge new Israeli settlement in West Bank condemned by US and UK The Guardian 1 September 2014 a b UK France condemn Israeli decision to appropriate West Bank land Ynet 1 September 2014 Israeli media reported the move was in response to the kidnapping and murder of the three Israeli teens Robert Fisk Israel s land for lives is theft Pure and simple The Independent 2 September 2014 Mackay Robert 17 June 2014 Israelis Start BringBackOurBoys Campaign The New York Times Retrieved 21 June 2014 Israel leader wants world pressure on Palestinians Associated Press AP 17 June 2014 Megnazi Avail Morag Gilad 16 June 2014 Rabbi Lau Israeli nation will never break Ynetnews Retrieved 16 June 2014 Burned Body of Arab Found in Jerusalem Forest Yeshiva World News 3 July 2014 Palestinian Mohammad Abu Khdair was burned alive BBC News 5 July 2014 Palestinians say Israeli extremists killed teen West Hawai i Today Locals Settlers try to kidnap 7 year old in Beit Hanina Ma an News Agency 4 July 2014 Archived from the original on 10 July 2014 Retrieved 6 July 2014 Locals Settlers abduct attack Palestinian near Nablus Ma an News Agency 5 July 2014 Archived from the original on 8 July 2014 Retrieved 6 July 2014 Tampa teen beaten jailed in Jerusalem WTSP 5 July 2014 Archived from the original on 6 July 2014 Retrieved 6 July 2014 Video shows Israeli police beating Palestinian teenager Channel 4 5 July 2014 US teen allegedly beaten detained in Israeli prison The Washington Post 5 July 2014 Psaki Jen Detention of Tariq Khdeir Press Releases July 2014 US Department of State Retrieved 5 July 2014 Beaten Palestinian youth is US citizen cousin of murdered kidnap victim Haaretz 5 July 2014 Retrieved 5 July 2014 Donzis Aron 18 June 2014 Abbas Kidnapped youths must be returned The Times of Israel Retrieved 20 June 2014 Miller Elhanan 17 June 2014 Cooperation with PA on kidnapping professional army official says The Times of Israel Retrieved 20 June 2014 Booth William Palestinian President Abbas condemns kidnapping of Israeli teens The Washington Post Retrieved 16 February 2014 a b PA cartoon glorifies kidnapping The Australian Jewish News 19 June 2014 Mahmoud Abbas s prisoner dilemma The Times of Israel 17 June 2014 Sick Fatah Posts Cartoon Mocking Kidnapped Teens as Rats Israel National News 15 June 2014 Miller Elhanan 19 June 2014 Hamas and Fatah clash over conciliatory Abbas speech The Times of Israel Retrieved 20 June 2014 Hamas angered by PA help in search for missing teens Ynetnews Reuters 14 June 2014 Koplowitz Howard 14 June 2014 BringBackOurBoys IDF Hashtag Sparks Palestinian Outrage on Twitter The International Business Times Archived from the original on 15 July 2014 Retrieved 15 June 2014 Harel Amos 13 June 2014 Missing teens Time is not on their side Haaretz Retrieved 16 June 2014 a b Toameh Khaled Abu 15 June 2014 Palestinian activists call for destruction of CCTV footage in attempt to frustrate IDF search The Jerusalem Post Kais Roi 14 June 2014 Gaza residents celebrate at news of missing Israeli teens Ynetnews Hamas video Fight against Israeli forces in West Bank Ynetnews 15 June 2014 Ho Spencer 23 June 2014 Palestinians parody kidnapping in video The Times of Israel UN chief Ban Ki moon Equates kidnapping to Israeli Defense The Jewish Press 15 June 2014 Ettinger Yair Levinson Chaim Ravid Barak Cohen Gili 15 June 2014 Kidnapped teens believed still in West Bank Haaretz UN chief condemns kidnapping of teens in West Bank The Times of Israel 15 June 2014 a b c d e f LIVE BLOG Search for Israeli teens ends in tragedy The Jerusalem Post 1 July 2014 US Jordan in disagreement at UN over Israel condemnation Ynetnews Reuters 24 June 2014 US prevents UN condemnation of Israel over West Bank deaths The Times of Israel AP and AFP 23 June 2014 a b c d US Canada and Spain express concern over kidnapping The Times of Israel 15 June 2014 PM Deaths of Israeli teens an appalling act of terror ITV com 1 July 2014 a b Francois Hollande condemns murder of three young Israelis Paris Ambafrance UK 2 July 2014 Archived from the original on 12 January 2015 Retrieved 2 July 2014 Keinon Herb 17 June 2014 After five days EU condemns kidnapping of Israeli teens The Jerusalem Post EU urges Israeli restraint in search for abductees The Times of Israel 29 June 2014 Keinon Herb 1 June 2014 Egypt urges Israel to stop collective punishment of Palestinians Aswat Masriya Cancilleria expresa energica condena por el asesinato de los tres jovenes israelies in Spanish cancilleria gov co 1 July 2014 Retrieved 11 July 2014 Lidman Melanie 12 May 2014 Nigerian leader decries dastardly kidnapping of teens The Times of Israel Retrieved 30 June 2014 Vatican calls Israeli teenagers deaths hideous threat to peace Reuters 30 June 2014 External links nbsp Media related to Operation Brother s Keeper at Wikimedia Commons West Bank kidnapping at Haaretz Memorial project by Yeshivat Mekor Chaim Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title 2014 Gush Etzion kidnapping and murder amp oldid 1213036713, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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