The IDF is continuing an exhaustive search of the Hebron area, which, given their normal efficiency and that of the Shin Bet leads me to believe that the three Israeli teens are still being kept somewhere in the vicinity. In fact, one of my Lil' Birdies tells me that the silence and lack of demands could even be a good sign. It may very well mean that the kidnappers have not been able to move the three Israeli boys out of the area to a more secure spot, say, in Gaza. After all,any announcements or attempts at communication could very well lead the IDF to the kidnappers..so the odds are that they're laying low for now.
The IDF are calling the search for the boys Operation Brothers' Keeper, and are also using it as an opportunity to take down the Hamas infrastructure in Judea and Samaria. Over 360 Hamas terrorists have been taken into custody. Yesterday, the IDF's sniffer dogs uncovered an underground Hamas tunnel system in Hebron.
Meanwhile, Hamas Leader Khalid Mesha'al is still denying that the kidnapping was a Hamas operation, but he loves theidea and is more than willing to cheer whoever did it on.
In an interview today with al Jazeera, Masha'al said "then blessed be the kidnappers, since it is a Palestinian obligation to release prisoners and make the occupation pay the price of the Palestinian suffering."
He also emphasized that the reconciliation agreement between Fatah and Hamas calls for joint action to release all of the convicted terrorists Israel now holds as "a sacred national duty and devotion to using any means to realize this goal."
Mesha'al's interview came just hours after Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh announced that a third intifada against 'the Zionist Enemy' had started.
Considering the fact that Hamas is still launching rockets at Israel from Gaza, I'd say the intifada never stopped.
The Israelis suspect that Salah al-Arudi, a member of Hamas' leadership who lives in Turkey eithe rhas a connection with the kidnappings or helped plan and finance them. He's financed terrorist cells in th epast and has been urging the kidnapping of Israeli civilians for some time.
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