More arrests in teen search
June 17, 2014
Israeli soldiers raided the northern West Bank city of Nablus early on Tuesday in search of the three missing teenagers. Some 40 Palestinians were arrested in the operation, the Israeli military said. Tel Aviv has accused Hamas of kidnapping the three, who have been missing since Thursday.
Local media reported that the teens disappeared after leaving their yeshiva - religious seminary - and had planned to hitchhike to their West Bank settlement homes. The missing persons have been identified as Naftali Frenkel, 16, Gilad Shaar,16, and Eyal Yifrach, 19. Frenkel reportedly also holds US citizenship.
The fresh arrests bring the total number of Palestinians detained since the teens' disappearance to over 200. The search, which marks the biggest West Bank crackdown on Hamas in almost a decade, has mostly focused on the southern city of Hebron.
Both Israel and the United States regard Hamas as a terrorist organization. In 2007, it ousted Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' party Fatah from the Gaza Strip, driving its leaders to rule solely over the West Bank. However, the parties recently reconciled to form a unity government. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has condemned the move and broke off peace talks with Abbas as a result.
Meanwhile, the military also said Israeli warplanes struck four targets in the Gaza Strip overnight, in response to rocket fire. The army said the targets were manufacturing and storage sites.
hc/pfd (AP, dpa)