- Title: ISRAEL: Israeli forces search for three missing Jewish teens in West Bank
- Date: 13th June 2014
- Summary: HEBRON, WEST BANK (JUNE 13, 2014) (REUTERS) ISRAELI SOLDIERS SEARCHING AREA VARIOUS OF MILITARY VEHICLES ARRIVING SOLDIER STANDING IN HILLY AREA SOLDIERS STANDING ON ROAD VARIOUS OF ISRAELI SOLDIERS ENTERING BUILDING SOLDIERS ON ROAD VARIOUS OF MILITARY VEHICLES DRIVING
- Embargoed: 28th June 2014 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: West bank
- City:
- Country: Palestinian Territories
- Topics: Crime / Law Enforcement,Defence / Military
- Reuters ID: LVA270RCE9QMUPWI21U8HQ9YAHXR
- Story Text: Israeli forces are searching for three Jewish teenagers who went missing in the occupied West Bank late Thursday (June 12), the military said on Friday (June 13), amid reports the trio might have been kidnapped by Palestinian militants.
Chief military spokesman, Brigadier-General Motti Almoz said security agencies were "making a very large intelligence effort to try to glean information on what happened to these three youths in the past hours."
"Contact was lost during the late night hours with three youths in the Gush Etzion area, and since early morning we were busy with a military operation to search for them," Almoz added.
Israeli soldiers scoured the countryside around the flashpoint city of Hebron after the youths vanished in the area during the night.
"Forces are conducting a widespread operation to locate the individuals," the military said in a statement, adding that the youths had gone missing close to the Jewish settlement of Gush Etzion to the north of Hebron.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convened a special meeting of security ministers and officials in Tel Aviv and said in a statement that Israel held the Western-backed Palestinian Authority as responsible for the safety of the three.
The military did not name the missing teenagers. Haaretz newspaper said two were aged 16 and one was 19, adding that they were believed to have been trying to hitch a lift when they disappeared. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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