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| 2 Israeli Teenagers and One American Said to Be Kidnapped in West Bank | |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| JERUSALEM — Three Israeli teenagers were missing in the West Bank and were presumed to have been kidnapped, Israeli military officials said on Friday. The episode added a new layer of tensions to Israel’s already strained relations with the Palestinians after the collapse this year of American-brokered peace talks and Israel’s rejection of the newly formed Palestinian government. | JERUSALEM — Three Israeli teenagers were missing in the West Bank and were presumed to have been kidnapped, Israeli military officials said on Friday. The episode added a new layer of tensions to Israel’s already strained relations with the Palestinians after the collapse this year of American-brokered peace talks and Israel’s rejection of the newly formed Palestinian government. |
| Although occasional violence in the West Bank has continued to claim victims on both sides, the successful abduction of Israelis has been rare in recent years. But the Shin Bet, Israel’s internal security agency, said it had foiled more than 60 planned abductions in the West Bank since the beginning of 2013, arresting suspected Palestinian perpetrators before they could carry out their plans. | Although occasional violence in the West Bank has continued to claim victims on both sides, the successful abduction of Israelis has been rare in recent years. But the Shin Bet, Israel’s internal security agency, said it had foiled more than 60 planned abductions in the West Bank since the beginning of 2013, arresting suspected Palestinian perpetrators before they could carry out their plans. |
| The Israeli military was conducting intensive searches in the West Bank, focused on the Hebron area. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was consulting with the defense minister and other top security officials, according to a statement from his office. It added that Israel considers the Palestinian Authority responsible for the safety of the missing youths. | The Israeli military was conducting intensive searches in the West Bank, focused on the Hebron area. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was consulting with the defense minister and other top security officials, according to a statement from his office. It added that Israel considers the Palestinian Authority responsible for the safety of the missing youths. |
| One of the missing boys holds United States citizenship, and the American ambassador to Israel, Daniel B. Shapiro, has been updated on the situation, according to media reports in Israel. | |
| Maj. Gen. Adnan Dameiri, the spokesman for the Palestinian Authority police in the West Bank, said, “We don’t have any information from our side.” Speaking by telephone from Ramallah in the West Bank, he noted that the three teenagers were apparently missing from an area of the West Bank that is under Israeli control. | |
| “It is not under our security control or jurisdiction. It is part of Israel’s security responsibility,” he said, adding, “We are not responsible if there is a car accident in Tel Aviv, are we? We are committed to all agreements we signed with Israel.” | |
| After hours of rumors and a news blackout of the episode imposed by Israeli security services, the chief military spokesman announced shortly after 5 p.m. that Israeli forces had been searching for the three boys since before dawn. Brig. Gen. Motti Almoz gave few details, citing security concerns. | After hours of rumors and a news blackout of the episode imposed by Israeli security services, the chief military spokesman announced shortly after 5 p.m. that Israeli forces had been searching for the three boys since before dawn. Brig. Gen. Motti Almoz gave few details, citing security concerns. |
| According to initial reports the three teenagers were last heard of on Thursday night as they made their way to a hitchhiking station at Alon Shvut in the Gush Etzion settlement bloc south of Jerusalem. A spokesman for the Israeli police, Micky Rosenfeld, said that police received an emergency call from the cellphone of one of the teenagers at 10 p.m. on Thursday. Mr. Rosenfeld said the caller did not talk, but noise could be heard in the background indicating that perhaps he was in some kind of trouble. | |
| This episode comes at a delicate time, less than two weeks after the establishment of the new Palestinian government that resulted from a reconciliation pact between the Palestine Liberation Organization, which is dominated by the mainstream Fatah movement, and Hamas, the Islamic militant group that dominates Gaza. Israel refuses to negotiate with the government, which is made up of politically independent ministers, on the grounds that it is backed by Hamas. The militant group, which also has a presence in the West Bank, refuses to recognize Israel and is classified as a terrorist organization by the United States and Europe. | This episode comes at a delicate time, less than two weeks after the establishment of the new Palestinian government that resulted from a reconciliation pact between the Palestine Liberation Organization, which is dominated by the mainstream Fatah movement, and Hamas, the Islamic militant group that dominates Gaza. Israel refuses to negotiate with the government, which is made up of politically independent ministers, on the grounds that it is backed by Hamas. The militant group, which also has a presence in the West Bank, refuses to recognize Israel and is classified as a terrorist organization by the United States and Europe. |
| Israel has said it would maintain contact with the Palestinian Authority on security issues and the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has pledged to continue security coordination with Israel. It was not immediately clear whether the sides were working together on the case of the missing youths. | Israel has said it would maintain contact with the Palestinian Authority on security issues and the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has pledged to continue security coordination with Israel. It was not immediately clear whether the sides were working together on the case of the missing youths. |
| Palestinian militant leaders have called for the abduction of Israeli soldiers as hostages to be traded for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails. Israel’s Army Radio routinely broadcasts announcements warning soldiers against hitchhiking. | Palestinian militant leaders have called for the abduction of Israeli soldiers as hostages to be traded for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails. Israel’s Army Radio routinely broadcasts announcements warning soldiers against hitchhiking. |
| Last September an Israeli soldier, Sgt. Tomer Hazan, 20, was killed by a Palestinian man with whom the sergeant worked at a restaurant in Israel. Security officials said the Palestinian man had lured the sergeant to the West Bank and killed him in the hope of trading his body for a brother imprisoned in Israel. | Last September an Israeli soldier, Sgt. Tomer Hazan, 20, was killed by a Palestinian man with whom the sergeant worked at a restaurant in Israel. Security officials said the Palestinian man had lured the sergeant to the West Bank and killed him in the hope of trading his body for a brother imprisoned in Israel. |