Free Republic

A senior IDF source said Thursday that the search for the three Israeli teens kidnapped by Hamas terrorists last Thursday suggests that Hamas leadership abroad, and particularly in Turkey, is behind the abduction. The source told Walla! that in particular Salah al-Arouri, a Hamas leader living in Turkey, has been a key source behind terror attacks in Judea and Samaria in recent years. Reports last December revealed that Turkey has replaced Iran as the leading financial backer of Hamas since 2012; Turkey is the only NATO member to recognize Hamas. According to the reports, Ankara has hosted a Hamas presence,...

A spokesperson for United Nations (UN) Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon said Tuesday night that the UN has no “concrete evidence” that Eyal Yifrah, 19, Naftali Frenkel, 16, and Gilad Sha'ar, 16, were “actually” kidnapped by Hamas terrorists last Thursday. The spokesperson, Farhan Haq, was quoted by Voice of Israel public radio as saying the UN does not have an independent investigative unit that could confirm the kidnapping. Making Haq’s words more confusing is the fact that Ban already condemned the kidnapping on Saturday, noting particularly that two of the kidnapped Israeli students are minors. …

The EU has urged Israel to keep working with Palestinian authorities in order to help get back three teenagers kidnapped in the West Bank. It said in a statement on Tuesday (17 June) it “encourages continued close cooperation between the Israeli and Palestinian security services to ensure the swift release of the abductees.” It added that “such acts can only undermine international efforts to encourage a resumption of peace negotiations.” …