Palestinians voice support for kidnapping of three Israeli teens by Hamas terrorists

Palestinians have been voicing their support for the kidnapping of three Israeli youths by Hamas terrorists on the night of 12 June and have been calling for further abductions.

Gilad Shaar, 16, Naftali Frenkel, 16 and Eyal Yifrach, 19, have been missing and were last seen around the Gush Etzion settlements, according to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).

The three “were just on their way home,” Naftali’s mother, Racheli Frankel, told reporters. “We trust” that they “will be with us here, and we’ll hug them soon … and God willing, we’ll all be able to celebrate their return safely”, she said.

She thanked the security forces for their efforts and the U.S. Embassy for its support. “We feel waves and waves of prayers and support and positive energy in this direction.” Naftali Frenkel has also US citizenship.

IDF spokesman Lt. Col. Peter Lerner said: “We are determined in bringing the boys home in a (hasty) manner, in safety and in good health. Palestinian terrorists will not feel safe, will not be able to hide and will feel the heavy arm of the Israeli military capabilities.”

Since the boys disappeared, IDF forces have conducted a widespread operation in order to locate them.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday blamed Hamas for the kidnapping.

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“This morning I can say what I was unable to say yesterday before the extensive wave of arrests of Hamas members in Judea and Samaria,” he said at the start of the weekly Cabinet meeting.

“Those who perpetrated the abduction of our youths were members of Hamas — the same Hamas that Abu Mazen (Palestinian Authority President Abu Mazen) made a unity government with. This has severe repercussions.”

According to Israel, the kidnapping is a direct result of the intensification of terrorist activity emanating from the West Bank since President Abbas forged an alliance with Hamas.
Hamas remains committed to the destruction of Israel and to carrying out terrorist attacks against Israeli civilians. “Terrorist attacks are nothing less than Hamas’s raison d’être.”

Israel has warned the international community about the dangers of endorsing Fatah’s pact with Hamas.

Israel says that the claim that the PA cannot be held responsible for an attack that took place in an area under Israeli security control is “absurd.”

“What matters is not where terrorist attacks take place (e.g., Tel Aviv, New York City), but from where the attacks are launched. In this case, the Hamas perpetrators set out from territory controlled by the PA. The PA cannot absolve itself of its responsibility,” says Israel.

Soon after the kidnapping, terrorist organizations praised the attack and urged Palestinians in Judea and Samaria (the West Bank) to hamper the IDF’s efforts to locate the boys.

Senior Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad officials have called for the kidnapping of more Israelis, with the intention of trading them for convicted terrorists.

University students in Birzeit University distribute sweets in celebration of the kidnapping.

Upon hearing of the abduction, Palestinians handed out candy in the streets and posted messages lauding the incident on social media sites.

On Friday, Palestinians initiated a Facebook campaign expressing support for the terrorist kidnapping. Dozens changed their Facebook profiles, posting pictures of three fingers meant to represent the abducted teens. Meanwhile, comics featuring slogans such as #Three_”GiladShalits” and “Hebron_Uprising” began spreading over the internet.

Moreover, according to Palestinian Media Watch (PMW), in an odious distortion of the World Cup 2014 logo, the official Palestinian Authority daily printed Sunday a cartoon celebrating the kidnapping of three Israeli youths.

Instead of the famous logo of the World Cup 2014, in which three victorious hands hold the globe, together creating the prestigious trophy, the PA cartoon shows a “trophy” of three hands holding three people with their hands up in surrender.

Instead of the text “Brasil” below the “trophy,” the word “Khalil” is written – Arabic for Hebron, a city near where the Israeli youths were kidnapped.

Since 2013, the IDF and the Shin Beth have foiled over 64 kidnapping attempts.
Hamas has put considerable effort into kidnapping attempts through its large network.

The kidnappings are part of a broad terrorist strategy. Terrorist organizations use the victims as bargaining chips to force decision makers in Israel to accede to their demands.

Last September, a Palestinian terrorist lured Sgt. Tomer Hazan to a Palestinian village in central Judea and Samaria and murdered him. During an interrogation, the terrorist admitted his plans to trade Sgt. Hazan’s body for the release of his brother – a convicted terrorist imprisoned in Israel for involvement in multiple terror attacks.

Until today, Palestinian terrorists have viewed the capture of 1st Sgt. Gilad Shalit in 2006 as a key accomplishment, increasing their determination to kidnap Israelis and trade them for Palestinian prisoners. In 2011, as part of the deal to secure Shalit’s freedom, Israel released 1,027 convicted terrorists and Hamas operatives. Among the released were those serving life sentences for perpetrating some of the most severe terror attacks in Israel’s history.