Tens of thousands mourn 3 slain teens

Parents of Naftali Fraenkel, 16, Eyal Yifrah, 19, and Gilad Shaar,16, the three Israeli teens who were abducted and killed in the West Bank, mourn during their sons’ joint funeral Tuesday in Modiin, Israel.
Parents of Naftali Fraenkel, 16, Eyal Yifrah, 19, and Gilad Shaar,16, the three Israeli teens who were abducted and killed in the West Bank, mourn during their sons’ joint funeral Tuesday in Modiin, Israel.

JERUSALEM -- Tens of thousands of mourners converged Tuesday in central Israel for a funeral service for three teenagers found dead in the West Bank after a two-week search and a crackdown on the Hamas militant group, which Israeli leaders have accused of abducting and killing the young men.

The deaths of Eyal Yifrah, 19, Gilad Shaar, 16, and Naftali Fraenkel, a 16-year-old with dual Israeli-American citizenship, have prompted calls for revenge. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convened his security Cabinet for an emergency meeting to discuss a response to the killings, hours after airstrikes targeted dozens of suspected Hamas positions in the Gaza Strip.

Ahead of the late-night meeting, Netanyahu vowed a tough response against Hamas, saying Israel "will not rest" until it catches the killers. He also warned of stepped up military activity in Hamas-controlled Gaza if rocket fire out of the territory continues.

"Hamas continues to support, even at this time, the kidnappings of our citizens and is directly responsible for firing rockets and mortars at our territory, including in recent hours," Netanyahu said in a statement aired on national TV. "If there is a need, we will broaden the campaign as much as needed."

Israeli troops also shot dead a Palestinian man in the West Bank, where the teens disappeared June 12. Israel has accused the Hamas militant group of carrying out the abduction, and Netanyahu has warned that "Hamas will pay."

Israel has said two well-known Hamas operatives from Hebron are the primary suspects. The men, Marwan Qawasmeh and Amer Abu Aisheh, have not been seen since the teens disappeared, and military officials said the search for them would continue.

During a visit to Little Rock on Tuesday, the consul general of Israel to the Southwest, Meir Shlomo, also said Israel was searching for the men.

"I'm pretty confident that we will find them," Shlomo said. "We have very good security forces. ... And once we find them we will bring them to justice."

The three young men were buried side by side in the central Israeli town of Modiin. Mourners arrived in large convoys of buses arranged for the ceremony. Netanyahu and President Shimon Peres were among the speakers to eulogize the youths. Hundreds of people also attended separate memorial services in the hometowns of the three teens.

"Recently, the people of Israel went through a great trauma," said Shirel Shaar, Gilad Shaar's younger sister. "We are living as if we are in a movie, whose ending is as bad as can be," she said. "I don't have a brother anymore."

Israeli officials said the three were abducted while hitchhiking home from the Jewish seminaries where they were studying near the West Bank city of Hebron.

Hamas has praised the kidnappings but not confirmed or denied Israeli allegations that it was involved.

Their disappearances prompted the army to launch its largest ground operation in the West Bank in nearly a decade, dispatching thousands of troops to search for them and arresting nearly 400 Hamas operatives. The search came to an end Monday when the bodies were found buried under a pile of rocks in a field north of Hebron.

The crackdown on Hamas in the West Bank has been accompanied by a spike in rocket fire out of the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip. At sundown, Gaza militants fired five more rockets toward Israel, raising the number of rockets launched Tuesday to 10, the army said. The rockets caused no damage or injuries.

Early Tuesday, the Israeli air force carried out airstrikes on 34 targets, including a Hamas compound, the military said. Palestinian officials said four people were wounded.

In the West Bank, Israeli troops shot and killed a 20-year-old Palestinian man during a raid in the northern town of Jenin. Israel said the man had thrown a grenade at the troops. His family said he had been carrying eggs home for a pre-dawn meal before the daylight fast for the Ramadan holiday.

Israeli authorities have released few details of the abduction or the search for the teens. On Tuesday, Israeli media published a recording of an emergency call made to police by one of the teens shortly after the abduction.

"They kidnapped me," a voice, believed to be Shaar, can be heard saying. Another male voice is then heard, shouting, "head down." Police confirmed the recording is authentic. Emergency workers initially dismissed the call as a hoax, delaying the rescue efforts for hours. Several workers have been disciplined for the error.

Israel has not yet decided how it will respond to the deaths of the youths. Netanyahu's Security Cabinet held a three-hour meeting late Monday but couldn't agree on a response. It was to meet again Tuesday.

Hamas, an offshoot of the region wide Muslim Brotherhood, is deeply rooted in Palestinian society. The movement's political goal is an Islamic state in all of historic Palestine, including the territory that now makes up Israel.

Netanyahu has called on Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to end his alliance with Hamas, saying he cannot be serious about peace while cooperating with a group sworn to Israel's destruction. Israel and its Western allies consider Hamas, which has killed hundreds of Israelis in suicide bombings and other attacks, a terrorist group.

A Section on 07/02/2014

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