ISRAEL FINDS TEEN'S BODIES, VOW TO MAKE HAMAS PAY

HALHUL - Israel has found the bodies of three missing teenagers, accusing Hamas of their murder and vowing to make the Islamist movement pay.

“This evening, we found three bodies and all the signs indicate that they are the bodies of our three kidnapped youngsters,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told ministers at the start of an emergency session of his security cabinet on Monday.

“They were kidnapped and murdered in cold blood by human animals,” he said.

“Hamas is responsible and Hamas will pay.”

After several hours, the cabinet session ended without further public comment and public radio said ministers would reconvene on Tuesday evening.

A senior Hamas official warned Israel against reprisals, saying it would open “the gates of hell”.

The discovery of the boys' bodies -- one 19-year-old and two aged 16 -- came 17 days after they disappeared, triggering a huge manhunt during which five Palestinians were killed and more than 400 arrested.

Israeli public radio said on Tuesday that the youths were apparently shot dead shortly after they were snatched.

Two Hebron Hamas men named by Israel as prime suspects -- Marwan Qawasmeh and Amer Abu Eishe -- remain at large but Palestinian witnesses said troops blew up their homes early Tuesday.

Source: Channelnewsasia...More...