ISRAELI POLICE: HAMAS HAS NO LINK TO KIDNAPPING AND KILLING OF SETTLERS BOYS

Israeli police acknowledged that the kidnappers were not acting under the orders of Hamas. (Photo: MINA File) — **Israeli police acknowledged that the kidnappers were not acting under the orders of Hamas.** (Photo: MINA File)

Tel Aviv, 29 Ramadan 1435/27 July 2014 (MINA) – After three weeks of Israel’s bloody war on Gaza mainly under the pretext of alleged abduction of three Israeli teenagers by Hamas, the Israeli police have acknowledged that the kidnappers were not acting under the orders of the resistance movement.

In a Friday interview with the state-run BBC, Israeli Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld ruled out any links between the men responsible for the murdering of the three teenagers and Hamas, saying they are part of a “lone cell.”

Israeli forces killed several Palestinians and arrested hundreds of others, including Hamas members and lawmakers, as part of the search for the three settlers, whom Israel claimed went missing in the West Bank on June 12, Press TV quoted by Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA) as reporting, Sunday.

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Hamas had denied involvement in the alleged disappearance of the teens.

On June 30, Israel confirmed that the three Israeli settlers were dead and their bodies were buried in a field near the village of Halhul north of the city of al-Khalil (Hebron) in the West Bank.

A day after the funeral of the three teenagers, Israeli settlers abducted and burned alive 17-year-old Palestinian Mohamed Abu Khdeir in the West Bank in retaliation for the incident.

One of the main reasons that Israel launched its new war on Gaza was the regime’s accusations against Hamas over the kidnapping issue.

The Palestinian death toll has reached 900 from more than two weeks of Israeli strikes. Around 5,700 Palestinians have also been injured in the onslaught.

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Israeli warplanes have been carrying out incessant airstrikes against the blockaded Gaza Strip since July 8. On July 17, thousands of Israeli soldiers launched a ground incursion into the densely-populated strip.

The Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas, has been launching retaliatory attacks against Israel.

While Israel confirms 37 Israelis have been killed in the war, Hamas sources put the number at about 90. (T/E01/IR)

Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)