Hamas official Mushir al-Masri warned against Israeli retaliation for the murder of the three Jewish teens, saying that the Gaza-based terrorist group and partner with Fatah in the Palestinian unity government possesses rockets and missiles capable of reaching Tel Aviv.
When news broke in Israel at around 7:30 p.m. on June 30 that the dead bodies of the three kidnapped boys had been discovered in a field near to where they disappeared — after 18 days of Israel Defense Forces (IDF) searches, raids and arrests across the West Bank — grief blanketed the nation.
Only 18 days after joining together in a hopeful prayer vigil for three Israeli teenage boys abducted at a bus stop outside their school, 1,500 members of the Los Angeles Jewish community grieved together in a memorial service for the teens—Gilad Shaar, Eyal Yifrach, and Naftali Frenkel—whose bodies were found on June 30 in a field north of Hebron.
Jews throughout the United States will hold memorial services this week to mourn the murders of the three Israeli teenagers.
Secretary of State John Kerry said on Wednesday the United States would work with the new Palestinian unity government \”as we need to\” but would be monitoring its commitment to continued cooperation with Israel.
The new Palestinian unity government brought together rivals Hamas and Fatah, but it has opened a divide between allies Israel and the United States.
The United States plans to work with the new Palestinian unity government and will continue to disburse aid to the Palestinian Authority, the State Department said.
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas swore in a Palestinian unity government on Monday under a reconciliation deal with Hamas Islamists that led Israel to freeze U.S.-brokered peace talks with the Western-backed leader.
Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah-controlled Palestinian Authority (PA) has now concluded a reconciliation agreement with Hamas, the United States- and European Union-recognized terrorist organization that controls Gaza and calls for the destruction of Israel (Article 15) and the murder of Jews (Article 7) in its charter.
The Palestinians will attempt to join 60 United Nations bodies and international agreements under a plan adopted by the PLO’s central council.\n\n
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