Israel announces the names of the Hamas kidnappers of the 3 teens
In very fresh news, earlier this evening the Shin Bet announced the names of the kidnappers of the three teenagers who were abducted exactly 2 weeks ago in Gush Etzion:
The two alleged abductors, Amer Abu Aysha and Marwan Kawasme, are both known Hamas members. They have been missing from their homes in Hebron’s Hares neighborhood ever since the kidnapping took place on the night of June 12 and are still at large. Israeli security forces have been engaged in a massive operation to find the abducted youths.
Marwan Kawasme (right) and Amer Abu Aysha, the Hamas terrorists suspected by Israel of kidnapping three Israeli teens
The identities of the suspected kidnappers, who attended prayer services regularly at the same mosque, have been known to Israel since soon after the kidnapping, but were kept secret as the search operation continued over the past two weeks. They are alleged to have been in the car in which Gil-ad Shaar, Eyal Yifrach and Naftali Fraenkel were abducted from a hitchhiking post near the settlement of Alon Shvut in the Eztion Bloc south of Jerusalem, Israeli officials said. Other members of their Hamas group have been arrested, the officials added.
Abu Aysha, a 32-year-old locksmith, was last seen at a family gathering only hours before the kidnapping, according to his father Omar, who spoke to The Times of Israel in Hebron several days ago. Abu Aysha’s father, Omar, who has spent time in an Israeli prisons for ties with Hamas, said that his son left the family gathering abruptly without offering any details as to his destination.
Abu Aysha’s brother Zayd, also a member of Hamas, was killed in November 2005 during a clash with IDF soldiers in Hebron. Abu Aysha’s mother told The Times of Israel that unlike Zayd, Abu Aysha was a family man who was deeply involved in the lives of his wife and three children. She said he had worked in Jerusalem as well as in Azaria, east of the city. She added that she too last saw Abu Aysha on Thursday, June 12, before the abduction, and said she did not notice anything unusual in his behavior.
However, Abu Aysha’s mother added, if her son did take part in the kidnapping, she was proud of him and hoped he would continue to evade capture, both by Israeli and Palestinian Authority security forces.
What a nice family (sarcasm). How does one go about un-educating people like that to reform their ways and renounce terrorism? The constant anti-Israel incitement prevalent in Palestinian society has done its work very well.
The second suspect, Kawasme, a 29-year-old barber who used to cut Abu Aysha’s kids’ hair, was detained by the Palestinian Authority and by Israel in the past. His family is known to be affiliated with Hamas. His uncle Abdullah Kawasme was the commander of the organization’s military wing in Hebron and was killed in a battle with SWAT officers in November 2003.
Israel has blamed Hamas for the kidnapping of Fraenkel, Yifrach and Shaar, though the Islamist group has denied involvement. Thousands of Israeli troops have searched hundreds of locations in the West Bank and arrested some 400 Palestinians, many from Hamas, including some who were freed in a 2011 prisoner exchange for Hamas-kidnapped Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit.
One of those terrorists freed in the Shalit exchange was recently re-arrested during the search for the kidnapped boys was the man who murdered police officer Baruch Mizrachi on Pesach.
Israel Police have arrested Ziad Awad, one of the 1,027 terrorists released two-and-a-half years ago in exchange for IDF hostage Gilad Shalit, on suspicion that Awad was responsible for the murder of Baruch Mizrahi on Passover eve near Hebron.
Baruch Mizrachi HY”D
Mizrahi, a senior police officer, was on his way to a holiday Seder meal when he was ambushed and murdered, reportedly by Awad, a resident of Idna, an Arab village near Hebron.
Mizrahi’s wife was also wounded in the attack.
Police said Monday that they unearthed the signs that identified Awad as Mizrahi’s killer during the manhunt for Eyal Yifrah, Gil-Ad Shayer and Naftali Frenkel.
Evidence includes DNA samples, finger prints and other incriminating material were collected at the attack scene.
This starkly illustrates (in case we didn’t know before) the huge danger in these prisoner releases demanded of us by the Palestinians and the international community.
Amar Abu Eisha, 32, was first arrested in November 2005, and placed in administrative custody until June 2006. He was rearrested for a short while in April 2007. Abu Eisha’s brother was killed in November 2005, while trying to hurl an explosive device at IDF soldiers.
The additional suspects who have been arrested by security forces are part of the Hamas in Hebron infrastructure, and are suspected of playing a role in the kidnapping, the source said.
#BringBackOurBoys #EyalGiladNaftali. Left to right: Eyal Yifrah, Gil-ad Shayer and Naftali Frenkel
Since the identity of the kidnappers has been known from the start, this is obviously not the huge breakthrough we have been waiting for. Nevertheless it is of great importance that the authorities have seen fit to publicise their names, whether to pressurise their families and friends to reveal their whereabouts, or to pressurise the terrorists themselves into giving up.
Please pray for the safe return of:
Yakov Naftali ben Rachel Devorah יעקב נפתלי בן רחל דבורה
Gilad Michael ben Bat Galim גלעד מיכאל בן בת-גלים
Eyal ben Iris Teshura אייל בן איריס תשורה
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