Palestinian arrested for murder of Israeli teens

Israeli security agencies have arrested a Palestinian suspected of organising the kidnapping and murder of three Israeli teenagers in Hebron in the West Bank June 12, the media said.

The suspect, 40-year-old Hussam Kawasme, was arrested in the Anata village in the West Bank July 11, after the court order, banning the disclosure of this information, was cancelled overnight, ITAR-TASS reported citing Israeli TV as saying.

The court documents said Kawasme confessed he had planned the kidnapping of the three Israelis.

Kawasme admitted, in particular, that he had received funds for the crime from Hamas representatives in Gaza, as well as bought weapons that he handed over to the kidnappers.

On June 26, Israel Security Agency (Shabak) made public the names and photos of two Hamas activists, suspected of kidnapping of the three Israeli teens.

"Already during the first 24 hours after the kidnapping of Gil-Ad Shaer, Naftali Fraenkel and Eyal Yifrah, Shabak found out that it was done by Hamas, and the organisers of the attack were two activists from Hebron - Marwan Kawasme and Amar Abu Aysha," the Israeli army said then.

Marwan Kawasme and Amar Abu Aysha are still at large.

The Israeli army, for almost three weeks, conducted a large-scale operation in the West Bank, searching for the kidnappers of the teens.

During this period, it arrested about 500 Palestinians, three-thirds of which were Hamas activists, as well as more than 10 Palestinian parliamentarians.

The soldiers searched 2,800 buildings, including offices of TV companies and newspapers.

The army also detained 57 Palestinians, released from Israeli prisons in 2011 in exchange for the abducted Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit.