Israelis and Palestinians remain in a state of shock following the kidnapping of three Israeli teenagers near Hebron in the south of the West Bank on the evening of June 12. Three organizations claimed responsibility for the operation: Ahrar al-Khalil, the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) and Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades. But Palestinians do not take these claims seriously, according to two security sources in the West Bank and Gaza Strip who spoke to Al-Monitor, as these organizations lack the infrastructure needed to carry out such a complex operation.
Al-Monitor previously reported on Palestinian plans to kidnap Israelis, so Hamas could pull off a prisoner swap with Israel. Such was the case with the Gilad Shalit deal in 2011, which whet the movement’s appetite for a similar new deal to secure the release of the remaining prisoners from Israeli jails. This also comes in light of the hunger strike announced by those prisoners more than 50 days ago, and the Israeli intelligence services’ warning of a kidnapping operation to free those prisoners, merely one month before that prediction became reality.
