Israeli defence chief says missing teens presumed alive

Israel's defence minister said Saturday that three Jewish teenagers feared to have been kidnapped by Palestinian militants from the West Bank Thursday night were presumed to be alive.

"At the moment we are working under the assumption that they are alive," Xinhua quoted Moshe Ya'alon as telling media in his first public statement on the crisis, adding that security forces will not cease their efforts to rescue the youths.

On Saturday, three teenagers were identified as Naftali Frenkel and Gilad Shaar, both aged 16, and Eyal Yifrach, 19, after the names were cleared for publication.

The trio, who resided in settlements and studied at a religious high school for men, was last seen getting on a vehicle at a remote hitchhiking spot in Gush Etzion, a settlement bloc south of Jerusalem.

One of the three is reported to be an American citizen and the US embassy in Tel Aviv was notified of his disappearance.