Middle East: Israel Mourns As Bodies of Murdered Jewish Teenagers Are Burried

by Benson Agoha

Israel has burried three kids, kidnapped and later found muddered, by suspected members of Hamas.

According to the Times of Israel, 16 year old Naftali Fraenkel, 19 year old Eyal Yifrach and 16 year old Gil-ad Shaar were kidnapped on June 12, but their bodies were only found on Monday June 30.

* Eyal Yifrah, 19, Gilad Shaar, 16, and Naftali Fraenkel, 16, the three Israeli teens, kidnapped on June 12 and dead bodies found on June 30.

Search parties found the bodies on a shrubland in Halhul, north of Hebron after IDF began military assaults on Hamas positions and threatened an all-out war against the Islamic group.

Israel wants the kidnappers dead or alive and troops continued to hunt for the prime suspects, even as he boys were being burried.

Overnight Monday-Tuesday, Israeli search party sealed  off the West Bank city of Hebron and the nearby village of Halhul, where they believe the culprits are still holed up.

Palestinians in the occupied territories are bracing themselves for imminent Israeli assault, although the discovery of the bodies now make it less likely.

* Vigil: Israelis light candles in Tel Aviv's Rabin Square, as they mourn the murdered teenagers, Monday, June 30, 2014.

The US cautions Israel against an allout assault although Israeli government officials say options remain open.

Even as Pathologists worked to identify the bodies of the three children, rockets were being fired into southern Israel from Palestine, with at least five rockets counted, according to media reports.

As condolences pour in, the Europian Union released statement on twitter, calling on Israel and other parties concerned to exercise restraint ..."in order not to further aggravate the fragile situation on the ground."

The EU said "We learned with profound sorrow that the bodies of the three Israeli youths who were kidnapped on 12 June.."... "We condemn in the strongest terms their killing."

"We express our sincere condolences to their families and friends and share their grief", and "We trust the perpetrators of this barbaric act will swiftly be brought to justice."

 

* Woolwich Online: On Twitter, Facebook and Google+.

* Photos Credit: ToI

* Also published in >>> [www.woolwichonline.eu ].