See World Jewry mourns deaths of kidnapped teens
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Dateline Jerusalem — The bodies of the three Israeli teenagers who were kidnapped over two weeks ago were found this afternoon by security forces in a field northwest of Hebron.
The discovery came after the Shin Bet focused its efforts in the area over the past two days during searches for the three Israeli teens, who were abducted from a hitchhiking point in Gush Etzion.
Security evaluations are that the teenagers were murdered a short time after being kidnapped.
The Shin Bet launched a painstaking and complex process to compile an intelligence puzzle that eventually led to the location of the bodies.
Information was gathered from a variety of sources, including Shin Bet regional coordinators, signal intelligence, desk analysts, and information obtained through the questioning of arrested security suspects.
This led to a gradual elimination of areas where the domestic intelligence agency believed it would find the bodies, until estimations honed in on the area near Halhul.
The Shin Bet instructed search forces to focus on the town of Halhul, north of Hebron, near where the bodies were.
The bodies were buried in an open area, three kilometers from Halhul. Searches today were led by the Kfir Infantry Brigade, the elite Maglan unit, and civilian volunteers.
The bodies were being transported to Abu Kabir Forensic Institute in Tel Aviv for further examination.
The Shin Bet is continuing intelligence efforts to track down the two Hamas kidnappers, Marwan Kawasme and Amar Abu Aysha, as well as all those involved in the kidnapping.
IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz held a security evaluation with senior military brass following the discovery of the bodies.
A large number of police officers and security forces had gathered at the Halhul junction near the area where the three were said to have been abducted. The area was declared a closed military perimeter.
Clashes broke out in the area between security forces and Palestinians.
A special cabinet meeting was reportedly set to convene later tonight. The Knesset had cancelled all votes in the plenum for this evening due to “developments.”
Earlier on this evening, Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon had announced that progress had been made in the 18-day search for Gil-Ad Shaer, Naftali Fraenkel and Eyal Yifrah, reported Israel Radio.
Since the start of the operation launched to locate the missing teens, the IDF has arrested 419 security suspects. Of those, 276 were Hamas members. Twelve Hamas leaders have been arrested in the West Bank. The IDF launched 39 brigade-wide raids, and targeted 63 Hamas civilian bodies.
Hamas radio and television media have been shut down, and restricted access has been in place around areas of Hebron for 17 days.
The IDF searched 2,216 West Bank homes. Meanwhile, in Gaza, terrorists fired 40 rockets at Israel. The air force responded with 13 waves of air strikes in response.
