JERUSALEM -- Israel has identified two alleged Hamas operatives in the West Bank as the central suspects in the recent disappearance of three Israeli teenagers in the Palestinian territory.
In a statement late Thursday , the Shin Bet security service identified the men as Marwan Qawasmeh and Amer Abu Aisha. It said both men are activists in the Hamas militant group in the West Bank city of Hebron, the area where the youths disappeared two weeks ago.
Israel has accused Hamas of kidnapping the three teens, who disappeared as they were hitchhiking home. The two suspects have been missing since the disappearance.
Israel has launched a massive manhunt across the West Bank and arrested hundreds of Palestinian suspects, but the teens have not been heard from.
