Israeli PM asks Abbas to help find missing teenagers

Israel Monday asked Palestine to help in finding the three teenagers allegedly kidnapped last week, a statement the Israel prime minister's office said.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Monday spoke to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas over phone, asking him to help finding the three teenagers, Xinhua reported.

"I expect you to assist in returning the abducted youths and in apprehending the kidnappers," Netanyahu told Abbas, according to the statement.

Netanyahu said the kidnappers came from territories controlled by the Palestinian Authority.

The Israeli prime minister added that this event "exposes the true face of the terrorism we are fighting against," and reiterated that partnership with Hamas is bad.

"It's bad for Israel, bad for the Palestinians and bad for the region," Netanyahu said.

Israel's Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Tzachi Hanegbi told Israel Radio Monday morning that there is an ongoing cooperation between the Israeli and the Palestinian Authority's security services to catch the perpetrators and find the missing teens.

The teenagers were kidnapped June 12 from the West Bank.