2014 Gush Etzion kidnapping and murder

The 2014 Gush Etzion kidnapping and murder refers to the abduction and killing of three <a href="/facts/Israel/dEe3IcaY">Israeli</a> teenagers in the West Bank during June 2014. The victims, Eyal Yifrach, Gilad Shaer, and Naftali Fraenkel, were Israeli students aged 16 and 19. On the evening of 12 June 2014, the three teenagers were <a href="/facts/Hitchhiking_in_Israel/Vfg4mzN0">hitchhiking</a> in the <a href="/facts/Alon_Shvut/5AadxvpU">Alon Shvut</a> settlement in <a href="/facts/Gush_Etzion/kje6LTVb">Gush Etzion</a>, in the <a href="/facts/West_Bank/xzTTVNJl">West Bank</a> when they were abducted.
The <a href="/facts/Israel_Defense_Forces/9hPaqcAM">Israel Defense Forces</a> immediately initiated Operation Brother's Keeper in search of the three teenagers. On 30 June, their bodies were found in a shallow grave near the town of <a href="/facts/Halhul/gvShcyl2">Halhul</a>. Israeli authorities accused two members of the Palestinian militant group <a href="/facts/1988_Hamas_charter/6zCWIKhF">Hamas</a>, Marwan Qawasmeh and Amer Abu Aisha, of carrying out the abduction and murder. As part of the operation, Israel arrested around 350 Palestinians, including nearly all of Hamas' West Bank leaders. The suspects were killed during a standoff with Israeli security forces on 23 September 2014, leading to the end of the operation.
The incident gained significant international attention and escalated tensions between Israelis and Palestinians, leading to an increase in violence and retaliatory actions and eventually triggering the <a href="/facts/2014_Gaza_War/ohAzVkfk">2014 Gaza War</a>.

2014 Gush Etzion kidnapping and murder open-in-new

2014 Gush Etzion kidnapping and murder