Israel/Palestine
Related: About this forumWest Bank crackdown 'to end in days'
The major Israeli military incursion in the West Bank will come to an end in a few days, a high-ranking Israeli military officer said Monday.
Speaking to the Hebrew-language news site Walla, the officer highlighted that after 11 days, the military operation across the West Bank, with a focus on Hebron district, has failed to find a clue leading to the three teenage settlers believed to have been kidnapped in the southern West Bank.
After 11 days, added the top Israeli officer, the military operation cant continue in the same pattern especially after the Israeli forces have almost completed their "bank of targets."
Surprisingly, the officer said the army considers the operation a success, despite that it failed to lead to a clue about the missing teenagers. The success, he added, is based on the fact that large numbers of Hamas supporters have been detained, and that the infrastructure of Hamas in the West Bank has been crippled.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=706997
msongs
(67,129 posts)azurnoir
(45,850 posts)The Israeli cabinet voted Tuesday afternoon to significantly reduce the security forces West Bank presence and limit the scope of Operation Brothers Keeper, aimed at finding three kidnapped teens, to intelligence-gathering campaigns seeking direct ties to the abduction.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu offered cautious praise for Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas for his strongly worded condemnation of the June 12 kidnapping of three Israeli teenagers, though Netanyahu reiterated his demand that the PA cut ties with Hamas.
In a meeting with his Romanian counterpart Victor Ponta, Netanyahu said Abbass address on June 18 constituted important statements, but emphasized that if he really means them, and if he is really committed to peace and to the war on terror, logic dictates he would sever his pact with Hamas.
Dissolving the reconciliation deal is the only way to move forward in the way backed by many in Europe who understand that in order to achieve peace and stability, we must combat the terror forces, intolerance
there can be no pact with the kidnappers of children, the prime minister said.
http://www.timesofisrael.com/cabinet-votes-to-scale-back-campaign-to-locate-teens/