Jerusalem, June 16 (IANS): One of the three teenagers who were allegedly abducted last Thursday from the West Bank had called the police emergency line and said "we are kidnapped", but the call was termed as a prank, the media reported Monday.
According to the Israeli military, at 10:25 p.m. Thursday, the call was made by the teenager and was abruptly disconnected, Xinhua reported.
The military and the Shin Bet Security Agency were not informed as the police classified it as a prank call and did not take it seriously.
According to an official report, only after one of the teenager's parents approached the police and said their son was missing, then the police lodged a complaint and inform the military at about 4:00 a.m. Friday.
Naftali Frenkel and Gilad Shaar, both aged 16, and Eyal Yifrah, 19, who were attending religious seminaries, were last seen late Thursday getting on a vehicle at a remote hitch-hiking spot in Gush Etzion, a settlement bloc in the West Bank. Their names and photos were cleared for publication on Saturday.
A massive manhunt for the kidnapped teenagers kicked up a notch Sunday when the Israeli military imposed closures on the Hebron region and the crossings to Gaza and arrested 80 Hamas members, including some top officials, in a wave of raids across the West Bank Saturday night.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused that Hamas is behind the kidnapping, a claim rejected by the movement, and vowed to take any steps necessary to bring three teens back.
he current assessment is that the three kidnapped boys are still alive and in the West Bank, military officials said.