Abducted Israeli teens must be released, Israel must cease collective punishment of Palestinians

Amnesty International calls for the immediate and unconditional release of three Israeli
teenagers abducted in the occupied West Bank on the evening of 12 June 2014.
Additionally, Amnesty International calls on the Israeli authorities to cease all measures
amounting to collective punishment which have been imposed on the Palestinian
population in the West Bank and elsewhere since the abduction.

Eyal Yifrah, 19, Gilad Sha’er, 16, and Naftali Frenkel, 16, all students at
yeshivas (religious schools) in Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, were last seen late
on 12 June in the settlement bloc of Gush Etzion, between the cities of Bethlehem and
Hebron in the southern West Bank. One of the three reportedly called the Israeli police at
about 10:25pm on 12 June and said, “We’ve been kidnapped,” before all contact was lost
with the teenagers.

Since the morning of 15 June, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other
senior Israeli officials have claimed that Hamas members were responsible for the
abduction. They have not provided concrete reasons for this, instead stressing that
Hamas’ military wing has been responsible for abductions in the past. On the same day,
Hamas spokesperson Sami Abu Zuhri denied involvement, although other officials from
Hamas, as well as spokespeople and members of other Palestinian factions, have
reportedly voiced support for the abduction.

At least three different statements claiming responsibility for abducting the teenagers
have reportedly been issued by different groups, one claiming to be affiliated with the
Islamic State in Iraq and al-Sham, one calling itself Ahrar al-Khalil, and one claiming to be
the Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades; this last statement was
reported to have been subsequently denied.

It is entirely unclear whether any of these claims are credible.

remainder: http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/MDE15/013/2014/en/a70784c7-e522-4732-b60d-a4652b247cd4/mde150132014en.pdf