Israel sees Palestinian unity as possible casualty of kidnapping

As Israel deals with the kidnappings, US-Israel relations are at an all-time low.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas gestures as he speaks during a conference in the West Bank city of Ramallah June 19, 2014. Israeli forces traded gunfire with Palestinians on Thursday, the military said, in the fiercest street battles in the occupied West Bank since a search began for three Israeli teenagers missing for a week. Abbas roundly condemned the kidnappers on Wednesday and promised to hold to account those responsible. His words in turn were denounced by Hamas and other factions, who accused h
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas gestures as he speaks during a conference in the West Bank city of Ramallah, June 19, 2014. - REUTERS/Mohamad Torokman
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Ben Caspit
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During the discussions held by Israel’s defense and political establishments in the first two days after the kidnapping of three Israeli teenagers on June 12, one question was largely debated: Why had the Palestinian Authority, or its leader, not yet condemned the act? 

One participant in those discussions, a seasoned Israeli diplomat, suddenly stood up and pointed out, “The Americans haven’t condemned the act, either.”

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