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Abducted Israeli teens found dead near Hebron | |
(35 minutes later) | |
The three Israeli teenagers who were abducted earlier this month in the West Bank have been found dead. | |
An Israeli military spokesman said their bodies were found in a pit near the town of Halhul, north of Hebron. | An Israeli military spokesman said their bodies were found in a pit near the town of Halhul, north of Hebron. |
Naftali Frenkel and Gilad Shaar, both aged 16, and 19-year-old Eyal Yifrach were last seen at a junction near Hebron as they hitchhiked home. | Naftali Frenkel and Gilad Shaar, both aged 16, and 19-year-old Eyal Yifrach were last seen at a junction near Hebron as they hitchhiked home. |
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Hamas was responsible, a claim the Palestinian militant group has denied. | |
At the start of a meeting of the Israeli security cabinet, Mr Netanyahu said the three were "kidnapped and murdered in cold blood by animals" and promised: "Hamas will pay". | |
But Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri told the AFP news agency that any action to punish the movement would "open the gates of hell". | |
Israel's Shin Bet security service earlier said the main suspects in the case were two men named Marwan Qawasmeh and Amer Abu Aisheh and that they were "Hamas operatives". | |
Forensic teams were in the area and searches were continuing in an effort to capture "all those involved in this attack", it added. | |
Israeli security forces have set up blockades and closed down whole areas around Halhul, which is just a few kilometres from where the teenagers were last seen. | |
Israeli Economy Minister Naftali Bennett wrote on Facebook: "Murderers of children and those who direct them cannot be forgiven. Now is a time for actions, not words." | Israeli Economy Minister Naftali Bennett wrote on Facebook: "Murderers of children and those who direct them cannot be forgiven. Now is a time for actions, not words." |
Israeli President Shimon Peres said the "whole nation is in deep grief". "Amid our deep sorrow, we remain determined to fiercely punish the criminal terrorists," he added. | |
White House spokesman Josh Earnest said: "We obviously condemn in the strongest possible terms violence that takes the lives of innocent civilians," AP reports. Naftali Frenkel held dual Israeli-American citizenship. | |
The abduction of the three Jewish seminary students on 12 June sparked a huge search operation in Palestinian towns and cities across the West Bank. | |
More than 400 Palestinians have been arrested, while five have been killed in fighting with Israeli troops. | |
Earlier, there were reports of clashes between Israeli soldiers and Palestinians in the Halhul area. | |
The case has put serious strain on relations between Israel and the Palestinians. | The case has put serious strain on relations between Israel and the Palestinians. |
Mr Netanyahu has said the incident is a consequence of "the partnership" between Hamas and the Fatah movement of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. The two signed a reconciliation deal in April after years of division and formed a unity government earlier this month. |