The disappearance of three Jewish youths in the occupied West Bank has rocked reconciliation between Palestinian political factions and risks sinking a new unity government, analysts and officials have said.
Israel has accused the Islamist group Hamas of orchestrating the kidnapping of the three teenagers last Thursday and has detained at least 240 Palestinians during a massive search mission that has so far failed to uncover the missing trio.
Hamas has refused to confirm or deny any involvement in the abduction, but many Palestinians believe that only it has the knowledge or network needed to snatch three young men and keep them hidden from view for almost a week.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas roundly condemned the kidnappers yesterday and promised to hold to account those responsible. His words in turn were denounced by Hamas and other factions, who accused him of betraying the national cause.
“Whoever did this wanted to destroy us,” Abbas said from Saudi Arabia in a speech broadcast on Palestinian television.
Whoever did this wanted to destroy us
“We are coordinating with [Israel] in order to return those youths, because they are human beings and we want to protect the lives of human beings,” said Abbas. Hamas has always decried cooperation between Israel and Abbas’s security forces, and it was quick to criticise his latest comments, which carried additional weight as they were delivered directly to an Arabic audience, not via Western media.
Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said Abbas’s words were “harmful to Palestinian interests”, although he said his group remained committed to a reconciliation deal forged in April that led to the formation of a unity government earlier this month.
The accord was aimed at ending seven years of division that saw the occupied West Bank under the partial control of Abbas and his Western-backed Palestinian Authority, while the nearby Gaza Strip was governed by Hamas.
“The fact that nobody has yet claimed responsibility for any kidnapping might be the only thing that is preventing the reconciliation from collapsing,” said Gaza political analyst, Hamza Abu Shanab.