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| Israelis launch search around Hebron after three teenagers go missing | |
| (3 days later) | |
| Israeli security forces have launched a mass search of the Hebron hills after three teenagers, one believed to be a US citizen, were reported missing amid fears they may gave been kidnapped by a Palestinian group. | |
| Although police have not ruled out other possibilities, the focus of the investigation on Friday was on abduction. | Although police have not ruled out other possibilities, the focus of the investigation on Friday was on abduction. |
| "Forces are conducting a widespread operation to locate the individuals," the military said in a statement late on Friday afternoon. Later a statement from the prime minister's office said it held Palestinians responsible for the safety, without elaborating. | "Forces are conducting a widespread operation to locate the individuals," the military said in a statement late on Friday afternoon. Later a statement from the prime minister's office said it held Palestinians responsible for the safety, without elaborating. |
| The three – two are reported to be 16 and the third 19 – went missing near the Gush Etzion block of settlements late on Thursday night, near Hebron on the West Bank. | The three – two are reported to be 16 and the third 19 – went missing near the Gush Etzion block of settlements late on Thursday night, near Hebron on the West Bank. |
| According to an Israeli army spokesman, the three teenagers were hitchhiking at around 10.30pm on Thursday. According to one report, Israel's domestic intelligence agency Shin Bet and the Israeli army treated the incident as a kidnapping after it was discovered that the teenagers' mobile phones stopped broadcasting location signals on a road between the settlements of Kfar Etzion and Alon Shvut. | According to an Israeli army spokesman, the three teenagers were hitchhiking at around 10.30pm on Thursday. According to one report, Israel's domestic intelligence agency Shin Bet and the Israeli army treated the incident as a kidnapping after it was discovered that the teenagers' mobile phones stopped broadcasting location signals on a road between the settlements of Kfar Etzion and Alon Shvut. |
| "He just disappeared, never made it home," a relative of one of the teenagers told the Ynet website. "His parents are worried, praying, hoping for the best." | "He just disappeared, never made it home," a relative of one of the teenagers told the Ynet website. "His parents are worried, praying, hoping for the best." |
| The three, all religious students at the Makor Chaim yeshiva, were believed to have been hitchhiking to Modi'in, between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. When they did not arrive home or make contact with their families, the yeshiva informed the authorities. "Everything we are doing in these hours, and in the coming hours, is an attempt to go back and retrace what happened there in that area, and understand where they are now and what happened to them," said a senior army official. | The three, all religious students at the Makor Chaim yeshiva, were believed to have been hitchhiking to Modi'in, between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. When they did not arrive home or make contact with their families, the yeshiva informed the authorities. "Everything we are doing in these hours, and in the coming hours, is an attempt to go back and retrace what happened there in that area, and understand where they are now and what happened to them," said a senior army official. |
| Israeli television reported that Binyamin Netanyahu, the prime minister, was being briefed on the search and had convened an emergency security cabinet session with his senior defence chiefs at the defence ministry compound in Tel Aviv. | Israeli television reported that Binyamin Netanyahu, the prime minister, was being briefed on the search and had convened an emergency security cabinet session with his senior defence chiefs at the defence ministry compound in Tel Aviv. |
| The State Department in Washington would not confirm that one of the three was an American citizen, citing privacy concerns, but said that secretary of state John Kerry had spoken to the Israeli justice minister, Tzipi Livni, and by telephone to the Palestinian president Mahmouod Abbas. | The State Department in Washington would not confirm that one of the three was an American citizen, citing privacy concerns, but said that secretary of state John Kerry had spoken to the Israeli justice minister, Tzipi Livni, and by telephone to the Palestinian president Mahmouod Abbas. |
| "We are working with the government of Israel and the Palestinian Authority to try to ensure that the situation is resolved quickly and that the three teenagers are safely reunited with their families," the spokesman said.On whether one of the teenagers held American citizneship, he would only say: "We have seen those reports, but cannot confirm them due to privacy considerations. Generally speaking, when a US citizen is reported missing or kidnapped, we work closely with local authorities and cooperate fully in their search efforts." | "We are working with the government of Israel and the Palestinian Authority to try to ensure that the situation is resolved quickly and that the three teenagers are safely reunited with their families," the spokesman said.On whether one of the teenagers held American citizneship, he would only say: "We have seen those reports, but cannot confirm them due to privacy considerations. Generally speaking, when a US citizen is reported missing or kidnapped, we work closely with local authorities and cooperate fully in their search efforts." |
| • This article was amended on 16 June 2014 to remove references to the missing teenagers as settlers. |