IDF arrests 25 Palestinians in continued West Bank operations
Security forces have detained over 300 Palestinians in search for kidnapped teens; Palestinians clash with Israeli forces, Palestinian teen reported killed.
By JPOST.COM STAFF, REUTERSAn Israeli soldier keeps guard in the West Bank city of Hebron June 15, 2014.(photo credit: REUTERS)
IDF forces arrested 25 wanted Palestinians in the West Bank, overnight Thursday, as part of an ongoing operation to locate three Israeli teenagers who were kidnapped a week ago.The suspects were detained for questioning, the IDF spokesperson's office confirmed.Around 320 Palestinians have been arrested so far since the teens went missing, 240 of which are members of Hamas, the IDF said.Israel has said its West Bank operation is twofold: to find Gil-Ad Shaer and US-Israeli national Naftali Fraenkel, both aged 16, and Eyal Yifrah, 19, and to deal a substantial blow to Hamas, the terror organization accused of conducting the abduction.Palestinians clashed with Israeli troops at various locations across the West Bank (including the Kalandiya checkpoint near Jerusalem) and residents reported a number of injuries. The IDF was checking for details of the clashes, a spokeswoman said.According to Palestinian medics, a Palestinian teenager was killed during clashes as security forces continued a crackdown on Hamas as they searched for three Israeli teenagers missing for more than a week.Mohammed Dudin, 15, was reportedly killed in the village of Dura, near Hebron in the southern West Bank, close to where the three Israeli teenagers went missing eight days ago.
