Live Blog from the Jerusalem Post
Here are the latest updates:
07:05 A.M. Security forces arrested 50 Palestinians, most of them Hamas members, in the latest wave of raids across the West Bank in response to the kidnapping of three Israeli youths near Hebron on Thursday, a security source said.
He spoke soon after IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Benny Gantz concluded an evaluation at IDF Central Command.
Raids are taking place from northern Samaria to southern Judea, but most of the security activity is taking place in Judea, the source said, adding that searches and arrests are “based on intelligence.”
The IDF’s operation to track down the missing Israelis is “getting deeper,” the source stated. The IDF, meanwhile, continues to maintain a closure over southern Palestinian areas in the West Bank.
Overnight, the IDF encountered some disturbances, and arrested rioters armed with “simple weapons,” the source said.
05:50 A.M. Israeli forces searching for three teenagers believed to have been kidnapped swept into a second West Bank city on Monday, touching off street confrontations in which they killed a Palestinian, witnesses and hospital officials said.
The bloodshed near the de facto Palestinian capital of Ramallah marked an escalation in a dragnet which risks ensnaring US-backed President Mahmoud Abbas though it targets Hamas, Islamist rivals with which he agreed a power-share in April.
Witnesses said Palestinians threw rocks at soldiers conducting house-to-house searches in al-Jilazoun refugee camp, outside Ramallah, before dawn. Army gunfire killed a 20-year-old Palestinian and wounded another, hospital officials said.
The military, which had announced plans to step up its West Bank operations to locate the three Israeli teens who disappeared after leaving a Jewish settlement on Thursday, did not immediately comment on the al-Jilazoun incident. (Reuters)
05:15 A.M. Palestinian hospital officials are quoted as telling the AFP news service on Monday that a Palestinian was killed by the IDF near Ramallah.
There is no independent confirmation of this claim.
03:35 A.M. The Israel Air Force struck numerous targets in the Gaza Strip in retaliation for rocket fire by Palestinian rejectionist groups, Israel Radio reported.
There is no word regarding casualties.
01:33 A.M. Maj. Gen. Yoav Mordechai, Israel’s coordinator of government activities in the Palestinian territories (COGAT) told the Palestinian news agency Ma’an late Sunday that the army possesses a “great deal of information” about the kidnapping of the three Jewish teens.
Mordechai would not elaborate, though he did add that the IDF would continue to surround Hebron in accordance with the latest developments in the pursuit of the kidnapped youths.
12:46 A.M. Deputy Foreign Minister Tzachi Hanegbi told Channel 2 on Sunday that “from all indications,” it is unlikely that the kidnappings of three teens in the West Bank will develop into a situation whereby Israel negotiates a prisoner swap with the captors.
12:16 A.M. Palestinian sources told Israel Radio that two Hamas operatives were arrested after the IDF surrounded their home in the southern part of Hebron. Hamas television claimed that the IDF used a missile to break into the home, and that special forces also took part in the operation. Two Palestinians were wounded in the incident.
10:38 P.M. Gunfire and a blast were heard as Israeli troops searching Hebron for three Israeli teenagers abducted by terrorists surrounded a house on Sunday, witnesses said.
Witnesses also reported that the IDF fired a rocket at the house.
9:05 P.M. Home Front Defense Minister Gilad Erdan told Channel 2 on Sunday that Palestinian Authority security forces were “willingly” helping in the search for three yeshiva students who were kidnapped on Thursday night.
Palestinian authorities acknowledged the cooperation, drawing Hamas censure.
Erdan played down, however, the role of a Palestinian administration, saying the recovery of the teenagers and the handling of their captors would be “almost entirely based on the Israeli military and security services.”
8:30 P.M. Insp.-General Yohanan Danino responds to media criticism for the police’s apparent delay in passing on information to the IDF when one of the kidnapped boys was able to place a call to police dispatch saying, “We’ve been kidnapped.”
Danino stated to the media that the time for self-criticism and investigating mistakes will come later and that right now all efforts must be focused on finding the kidnapped boys and bringing them home.
8:05 P.M. The mother of Gilad Sha’ar spoke to the public on Sunday for the first time since her son disappeared.
She thanked the public for its support as well as the soldiers and security forces currently looking for the three boys in the West Bank. “The army, the prime minister and our politicians are doing everything they can and I thank you,” she said.
8:00 P.M. Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s wife Sara and many Israeli politicians visit the families of the three boys, Naphtali Fraenkel, 16, Gil-Ad Shaer, 16, and Eyal Yiftach, 19.
“We’re all praying for your sons to return homes quickly and safely,” she tells them.
7:36 P.M. Widespread manhunts are continuing in full force to locate the three Israeli teenagers who went missing on Thursday night, IDF spokesman Moti Almoz said on Sunday evening.
“We are operating in large volumes in order to be successful. During the past day we extended the operations and arrested dozens of Hamas members,” he said in a brief address to the press. “We will continue to operate in the entire territory, we will spare no effort as our aim is to return the boys.”
7:00 P.M. US Secretary of State John Kerrycame out with harsh words for those responsible for the abduction of three Israeli teen boys over the weekend, calling the event a “despicable terrorist act.”
“The United States strongly condemns the kidnapping of three Israeli teenagers and calls for their immediate release,” Kerry said in a statement. “We continue to offer our full support for Israel in its search for the missing teens, and we have encouraged full cooperation between the Israeli and Palestinian security services. We understand that cooperation is ongoing.”
Here are the latest updates:
6:16 P.M. Released for publication: One of the kidnapped boys said “we’ve been kidnapped” in call to police – info not handed over to security forces for hours.
4:37 P.M. Finance Minister Yair Lapid says that Israel has a zero tolerance policy for terrorism and severely punishes it perpetrators.
“I urge the public to stand united behind the security forces as they complete their task using all means necessary at their disposal,” he says.
4:16 P.M. Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman, during a visit to Ghana on Sunday, tells Ghana’s Foreign Minister Hanna Tetteh that Israel hoped to bring the kidnapped teens home without a show of force, but added, that in the end the government would “do everything necessary to bring them home.”
3:59 P.M. Palestinian report: Egypt is reportedly taking measures to help clarify events surrounding the abduction of three Israeli teenagers in the West Bank and mediate for their release, a senior Egyptian official told Palestinian news agency Ma’an on Sunday.
According to the report, Egyptian security forces are conducting talks with Palestinian officials, in attempts to open channels of communication with various Palestinian terror groups, particularly Hamas and the Islamic Jihad.
The Egyptian source told Ma’an that the situation is likely to be resolved soon.
3:38 P.M. Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu reiterates on Sunday afternoon his accusation that Hamas members were the perpetrators of the kidnapping of three Israeli teenagers in the West Bank, despite the terror organization’s denial of responsibility for the incident.
“Hamas denials do not change this fact,” Netanyahu says in a statement
The IDF, Shin Bet and Israel Police are conducting widespread searches for the boys.Large numbers of infantry soldiers, including the Paratroopers’ 35th Division, Kfir’s 900th Division, and many intelligence units are on the ground, continuing to expand the operation.
3:05 P.M. A senior military official says the IDF believes the boys are still in the West Bank.
“We have assessed that the hostages were not transferred to Gaza or Sinai,” the official was quoted by Israel Radio as saying. “We were prepared for this eventuality and we will use all of the means in our possession to locate them.”
1:40 P.M. Rachel Frankel, the mother of Naftali Frankel of Nof Ayalon, speaks with the press on Sunday afternoon for the first time, saying, “Naftali, we love you endlessly and the people of Israel are working day and night to bring you home.”
12:55 P.M. In the wake of reports that police failed to notify security forces promptly after receiving a distress call, police release a statement saying they will not deny or confirm reports which are the responsibility of the news outlets themselves. Sunday’s statement echoes their Saturday night statement, when they said they were focusing only on the investigation at the moment rather than dealing with rumors.
12:38 P.M. The IDF has called up a limited number of reserves as the military operation to rescue three kidnapped Israelis in the West Bank continues to grow. The call up is small in scope at this stage.
Also, the air force deployed a number of Iron Dome anti-rocket batteries in southern Israel.
12:18 P.M. Hamas official denies group’s involvement in kidnapping, calls Netanyahu’s accusations “stupid” according to Palestinian news agency Ma’an.
12:00 P.M. Two senior Hamas officials have been missing since Thursday, Israel Radio reports. Security forces are investigating their connection to the kidnapping.
11:25 A.M. Prayer services are to be held at some 700 religious schools at 11:30 a.m. for the three teens.
Organizers say the largest prayer service was scheduled for the Makor Chaim Yeshiva in Kfar Etzion in the West Bank where two of the abducted teens Naftali Frankel and Gilad Sha’ar study. Another prayer service is taking place at the Shavei Hebron Yeshiva in Hebron where Eyal Yifrach is enrolled.
10:59 A.M. Hamas is behind the kidnapping of the three teenagers late Thursday night, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu says at weekly cabinet meeting.
By Avi Issacharoff, The Times of Israel’s Middle East analyst for Times of Israel
As Israeli and Palestinian forces conducted a wide-reaching operation in the West Bank to locate three kidnapped Israeli teenagers, Palestinian officials said the search was focused Sunday morning on locating two Hamas members missing for several days.
Three Israeli Teenagers Abducted
Palestinian terrorists have kidnapped three Israeli teenagers in Judea and Samaria. The teens have been missing for two days and IDF forces have passed the last 48 hours conducting a widespread operation in order to locate them.
The three teenagers – Eyal Yifrah, 19, Gilad Shaar, 16, and Naftali Frenkel, 16 – were last seen on Thursday night near Gush Etzion before they were kidnapped by the Palestinian terrorists.
Following the abduction, the IDF and Israeli security forces in Judea and Samaria conducted a widespread operation to find the kidnappers. Last night, security forces arrested 80 suspects in Hebron.
Three Israeli Teenagers Abducted
IDF Spokesman Brig. Gen. Moti Almoz said the current mission is to bring the three Israeli teenagers home safely and as soon as possible. “We are concentrating all of our intelligence efforts on trying to track down the missing individuals.”
Three Israeli Teenagers Abducted
IDF forces conducted extensive searches for the missing teenagers throughout the night. Operations continue across Judea and Samaria to locate the three boys.
[youtube=youtu.be/yDTZ5_9gsfg&w=520&h=315]
Official Announcement of the IDF Chief of Staff
IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz discussed the kidnapping publicly at a press conference Saturday night. “All of the IDF’s units have operated in close cooperation with Israel’s security organizations: the ISA (Shin Bet Security Service), the Israel Police and the Border Police,” the Chief of Staff said. “Under the guidance of Israel’s political leadership, the government, and the Defense Minister, we have operated for two days in growing scope and wherever needed.”
“We will continue to do what’s necessary to bring this incident to an end as quickly as possible,” Lt. Gen. Gantz stressed. “We will keep a close eye on events in Israel’s various sectors — in Gaza and in the North — even as these events unfold. We remain determined to achieve our operational objectives, and will act with responsibility, calm and determination to accomplish whatever is required of us.”
Kidnaping as a Tool of Terror
Many attempts to commit terror attacks involve kidnapping. During the past two years alone, terrorists have attempted dozens of kidnapping attacks, and their motivation to abduct Israelis remains high. In many cases, their goal is to trade civilians or IDF soldiers for the release of Palestinian prisoners.
In 2006, Palestinian terrorists captured SFC Shalit, an Israeli soldier, and held him in captivity for five years. Terrorists viewed the kidnapping as a key accomplishment, increasing their determination to abduct Israelis and trade them for Palestinian prisoners.
In September 2013, a Palestinian terrorist kidnapped Sgt. Tomer Hazan. The terrorist lured Sgt. Hazan to the village of Siniria in central Judea and Samaria, where he murdered the soldier and concealed his body in a water well.
During an Israeli interrogation, the murderer confessed that he had planned to use the soldier’s body to bargain for the release of his brother, imprisoned for involvement in multiple terror attacks.
Since 2013, over 64 kidnapping attempts were foiled by the IDF in conjunction with the Israeli Security Agency. Most of these attempts were coordinated and directed by Hamas prisoners held in Israeli jails.
In recent months, other terror attacks not involving kidnapping have led to the deaths of Israelis. Just one day after the murder of Sgt. Hazan, Palestinian sniper fire killed Sergeant Gabriel Kobi, age 20, in the city of Hebron.
In April 2014, on the eve of Passover, a Palestinian terrorist killed an Israeli civilian by opening fire on his vehicle on a main road in the area surrounding Hebron.
In November 2013, Eden Atias, was stabbed by a Palestinian terrorist while he slept on an Israeli bus in the northern city of Afula.
Eden Atias, was stabbed by a Palestinian terrorist while he slept on an Israeli bus in the northern city of Afula.
Three Israeli Teenagers Abducted
