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May 10, 2001
Terrorists murder teens near Tekoa. Ssharon demands PA halt terror
MARGOT DUDKEVITCH, HERB KEINON, Janine Zacharia,
Itim contributed to this report
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon yesterday demanded that the Palestinian Authority 'immediately halt terrorist activities and venomous incitement to murder Israeli civilians and Jews' following the brutal murders of two teenagers at the Gush Etzion community of Tekoa.
The bodies of Ya'acov (Kobi) Mandell and Yosef (Yossi) Ish-Ran, both 14, were discovered yesterday morning inside the Haritun Cave in Nahal Tekoa, a few hundred meters from the community. Their heads had been smashed in by rocks.
The boys' families only discovered they were missing close to midnight on Tuesday, after they had skipped school to hike in the wadi. They had thought the boys went to school, then to a demonstration in Jerusalem.
By last night, security forces had arrested 20 Palestinians from villages in the area, seeking to determine if they were involved in the brutal murders.
A curfew was placed on the nearby Arab village, also called Tekoa, and soldiers set up roadblocks in the area in an attempt to prevent the terrorists from fleeing.
A group called Hizbullah-Palestine claimed responsibility as revenge for the killing of four-month-old Iman Hijo, who was killed in Khan Yunis on Monday. An anonymous caller claiming to represent the group told foreign news agencies it would continue to attack Israelis until they are forced off Palestinian land.
Sharon condemned the murders and held the Palestinian Authority directly responsible. 'The horrific murders constitute an additional escalation in the Palestinians' violent terrorist activities against innocent civilian populations,' he said.
'We will catch those who are responsible for the horrific murder and those who sent them,' Defense Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer declared.
Rabbi Shlomo Riskin of Efrat said the cruelty of the incident defies any kind of understanding. 'The profound distinction between Israel and its enemies is that if a child is killed by Israel, it is in an act of defense directed at a building where shots were fired at soldiers. In the case of Kobi and Yossi and Shalhevet, the enemy picked out innocent children to destroy them.'
Shalhevet Pass was the Jewish infant shot dead by a Palestinian gunman in Hebron.
Gush Etzion Regional Council head Shaul Goldstein declared the latest murders were the result of the constant incitement to hatred and murder in the Palestinian media. He warned that if the army and government fail to take the proper action, the situation may lead residents in the area to take the law into their own hands.
'I oppose people taking the law into their own hands, and I stand here today and vow that we will deliver a response, today's murder will not be left unanswered. If we know that residents of a specific village only enter our communities to steal and murder, then they must be prevented from reaching us,' he said.
The two boys left their homes on Tuesday morning and set out for the wadi. Yossi had informed one of his schoolmates of their plans the previous day. That afternoon many pupils continued from school to participate in the demonstration outside the prime minister's residence, returning later at night.
Seth and Sherri Mandell and Ezra and Rina Ish-Ran notified authorities of their missing sons after they discovered they were not with their friends who returned from the demonstration. Residents began searching the area and shortly after 6 a.m., their bodies were discovered.
A mobile forensic unit sifted for clues and examined the blood-spattered cave. There were also bloodstains outside, and police were still investigating whether the two had been lured into the cave and murdered or were attacked outside and their bodies dragged inside the cave. Judea and Samaria police chief Cmdr. Shahar Ayalon said initial findings show at least two terrorists were involved.
Security officials believe the two were murdered Tuesday afternoon.
After several hours of forensic examination, the bodies of the two youths were carried up the rocky mountainside. The bloodstained rocks and stones were taken from the cave for burial.
Also on Tuesday night, thieves robbed the nearby Nokdim Farm of over 100 sheep and goats. Police said they did not believe there was a link between the two incidents, but several of the suspects arrested yesterday admitted to stealing them.
Yesterday afternoon, thousands took part in the funeral that left Tekoa for the Gush Etzion junction, where the two were eulogized by local leaders and Education Minister Limor Livnat. Mandell was buried in the cemetery of Kibbutz Kfar Etzion and Ish-Ran in Jerusalem's Har Hamenuhot.
Sharon warned against the PA's continued stockpiling of weapons forbidden by various agreements, which indicate the PA's 'destructive intention to intensify the violence and terrorism.'
He said the PA security forces are the central factor behind the terrorism and are cooperating with Hizbullah, Islamic Jihad, and Hamas. He said that the connection with the Hizbullah is being done through PA Chairman Yasser Arafat's presidential guard.
When asked if Arafat is still a peace partner, Sharon replied, 'Someone who kills Israeli citizens is not a partner. If there is complete quiet, not a decline in terror but a complete cessation, then we will be happy to renew negotiations and deal with whoever is the head of the PA. But I think that from day to day the Palestinians are pushing away the possibility of arriving at discussions about peace.'
Sharon praised the determination and steadfastness of the residents of Judea, Samaria, and Gaza, saying that 'they are the biggest heroes of this period. They are standing on Israel's front line, and they're are enabling us to protect the country. I can only say that I have deep appreciation for their activities, this is truly a type of heroism the likes of which I have not seen in years.'
US State Department spokesman Richard Boucher called the murders 'a horrible, brutal killing,' and said the US government had conveyed its condolences to the family of Mandell, an American citizen.
In Memoriam
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