海角大神

A daily roundup of terrorism and security issues.

Israeli soldiers arrested 41 Palestinians in the West Bank early on Tuesday while searching for three Israeli teenagers, Israel Defense Forces officials said, underscoring the military鈥檚 crackdown on Hamas in the West Bank while they search for the missing teens.聽

Israel blames Hamas for the disappearance of three seminary students who were hitchhiking in the West Bank last week. Israeli forces have detained more than 200 Palestinians, mostly Hamas activists, in 鈥�,鈥� according to the Associated Press.

The overnight search included about 1,000 soldiers, who , according to Israel鈥檚 Haaretz. About half of the arrests were in Nablus, the West Bank city north of Hebron where earlier searches concentrated.

In a meeting Monday, officers decided 鈥渢o expand the treatment of Hamas in the West Bank, and use the upcoming days to arrest anyone 鈥榠nfected鈥� with Hamas,鈥� an unnamed senior military officer told Haaretz.

Hamas, an Islamist movement that does not recognize Israel鈥檚 right to existence, has for the kidnapping, Reuters reports.

Also on Tuesday, the and called for the safe return of the three teenagers, identified as Eyal Yifrach,19, and Naftali Frenkel and Gilad Shaar, both 16. Israel had criticized the EU for not speaking out against the incident earlier. The US, Canada, Great Britain, and Spain have all condemned the attack.

海角大神鈥檚 Jerusalem bureau chief, Christa Case Bryant, explains that Israel views the kidnappings as the 鈥渋nevitable fruit鈥� of the reconciliation deal announced in April between the two main Palestinian factions, Hamas, which controls Gaza, and Fatah, led by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.

Israel鈥檚 criticism of the Palestinian Authority could undermine its close security cooperation with its security forces, the Monitor reported:

But Israel is also walking a fine line: Its coordination with Palestinian Authority security forces in the West Bank is widely credited with establishing a relative calm over the past few years by helping Israeli forces to hunt down militants and thwart attacks on Israelis.聽

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In an environment where Israeli soldiers control the movement of Palestinians, and聽can聽detain suspects without charge for months on end, the PA鈥檚 coordination with Israeli security forces is deeply unpopular 鈥撀爌articularly among Hamas supporters, who advocate armed resistance.

While Israel has sought help from PA security forces in tracking down the kidnappers, Hamas deeply disagrees with such security coordination though it does not appear to have the political leverage to stop it.聽

Tension is rising in the West Bank, where residents are angry that the search for three missing teens are making international headlines, while a Palestinian prisoner hunger strike and the detention of Palestinians by Israeli forces go unnoticed, .

鈥淥ur children, the prisoners, more than 50 days they鈥檙e without food, and nobody talks about it. Because of this kidnapping, the whole world opens its mouth,鈥� said Kayed Jaber, 49, a father of 10 [in Hebron]. 鈥淭hey have three boys missing,鈥� he added, referring to Israel. 鈥淭his is like they arrest 800,000 people in the Hebron area 鈥� look at the checkpoints.鈥�

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The local radio station played warlike anthems interspersed with bulletins about how many tanks were invading what neighborhood. In the Bab al Zawya district, Israeli soldiers fired rubber bullets at a few youths hurling stones and rolling flaming tires. Along Peace Street, the main thoroughfare, sweet shops and cellphone stands, car dealerships and clothing boutiques all sat idle behind roll-down gates or wooden shutters.

Many said there had not been similar scenes since the violent second intifada in the early 2000s.

鈥淲e, as Palestinians, of course we are suffering collective punishment,鈥� said Daoud Zatari, Hebron鈥檚 mayor. 鈥淚f it will last long it will have devastating and severe consequences on the people, not only from the economic side. The life is miserable now. They are feeling they are living in a surrounded zone, as if we are all in a big jail.鈥�

There are also rampant conspiracy rumors in the Palestinian territories, questioning whether the kidnapping actually occurred, the Times reports:

Leaders referred to the 鈥渁lleged kidnapping鈥� in some of their official statements, and social networks were filled with conspiracy theories of how Jewish settlers staged the event or the Israeli government was using it as a pretext to oust Hamas from the West Bank and thwart the Palestine Liberation Organization鈥檚 recent reconciliation with Hamas.

Ahmad Abu Eisheh, 27, noted that no credible claim of responsibility had yet emerged.

鈥淗amas announces when they kidnap,鈥� said Mr. Abu Eisheh, who works at a cleaning company. 鈥淔or sure it鈥檚 a film. They want to destroy the reconciliation.鈥�

At the core of the dispute are "fears and frustrations on both sides,"聽 the Monitor explains:

The incident highlights fears and frustrations on both sides, with Israelis deeply concerned about the security ramifications of Hamas rejoining the Palestinian government based in the West Bank, and Palestinians backing almost 300 prisoners on hunger strike due to Israel鈥檚 practice of holding them without charge for six months or longer.

With Israel鈥檚 track record of releasing Palestinian prisoners for kidnapped soldiers, such as the swap of 1,027 prisoners for Sgt. Gilad Shalit in 2011, many Palestinians advocate the kidnapping of Israeli soldiers or civilians as bargaining chips for justice.

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