Palestinians and Israelis have been living in uncertainty in the past three weeks following the murders of three Israeli settlers and Palestinian teenager Mohammed Abu Khdeir. The discovery of the bodies of the three Israeli boys has opened the door to further speculation as to what actually happened, for Israel insists Hamas was responsible, while Hamas continues to deny involvement.
Al-Monitor spoke with a senior Palestinian officer involved in coordination with his Israeli counterparts in the West Bank to answer lingering questions after the boys’ bodies were found and Hamas was accused of kidnapping and killing them. Some of these questions include: How did Israel find the teenagers? Why were they killed? When were they killed? Were they kidnapped to be used in an exchange deal, or were they kidnapped to be killed? Was Hamas’ leadership involved in the details of the operation, or did Hamas just issue general directives?
