Slain Israeli teens mourned

JERUSALEM (AP) — Memorial services have begun in Israel for the three teenagers who were kidnapped over two weeks ago in the West Bank. Their bodies were found yesterday.

Israel has said two well-known Hamas operatives are the primary suspects.

Israel has launched a crackdown on Hamas in the West Bank, where Israeli troops shot and killed a Palestinian man during a raid. And Israel’s air force has targeted dozens of locations in the Gaza Strip — where there’s been a spike in rocket fire aimed at Israel.

Israel hasn’t yet decided how it will respond to the deaths. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Security Cabinet held a stormy, three-hour meeting late yesterday, but was unable to agree on a response. The Cabinet is meeting again today after the funerals.

The Israeli daily Haaretz (hah-ah-REHTS’) says the country’s defense minister has proposed building a new settlement in the West Bank in memory of the teens. Another Cabinet minister proposed a large-scale military operation in Gaza and suggested using the death penalty against Palestinian militants.

%@AP Links

128-a-18-(Mark Regev (REH’-gehv), spokesman for Israeli prime minister, in AP interview)-“children as well”-Mark Regev, the Israeli prime minister’s spokesman, condemns the killing of three teenagers, saying the militant group Hamas is undoubtedly behind the outrage. ((Note cut length)) (1 Jul 2014)

<

077-r-12-(Sound of people singing while marching, in rally protesting the killing of three Israeli teenagers)–Sound of people singing while marching in rally protesting the killing of three Israeli teenagers. (1 Jul 2014)

<

APPHOTO CAIMA804: Avi and Rachel Fraenkel embrace during the funeral of their son, Naftali, a 16-year-old with dual Israeli-American citizenship, in the West Bank Jewish settlement of Nof Ayalon, Tuesday, July 1, 2014. The Israeli military found the bodies of three missing teenagers just over two weeks after they were abducted in the West Bank — a grim discovery that ended a frantic search that led to Israel’s largest ground operation in the Palestinian territory in nearly a decade and drew Israeli threats of retaliation. (AP Photo/Tomer Appelbaum) ISRAEL OUT (1 Jul 2014)

<

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Federal News Network Logo
Log in to your WTOP account for notifications and alerts customized for you.

Sign up