A Palestinian man inspects the damage caused by Israeli soldiers after a raid to his house in Hebron. (Abed Al Hashlamoun / EPA)
By Olivia Becker
Israel’s massive crackdown in the West Bank, which was sparked by the disappearance of three Israeli students on June 12, has now entered its 13th day and shows no sign of letting up.
The incursion, dubbed “Operation Brother’s Keeper,” has killed five Palestinians, arrested at least 361, raided some 1,600 locations, and put the entire southern region of the West Bank, and most major Palestinian cities under total lockdown. Of the hundreds of Palestinians arrested, very few have been formally charged, but rather are being held on “administrative detention.”
Israel has said that Operation Brother’s Keeper is intended to find and arrest those responsible for the kidnappings, which it insists is Hamas, despite offering no public proof of this allegation. But the reality of the situation — demonstrated by powerful images and the facts above — hints that the core of this crackdown is rooted in something other than the hunt for the missing teenagers.
“The response we’re seeing really suggests it is not about the crime,” Yousef Munayyer, executive director of the Palestine Center and The Jerusalem Fund, told VICE News. “It has provided an opportunity for Israel to impose a sweeping attack on Hamas, which imposes a severe cost on Palestinian society.”
Israel does not deny this. Speaking to reporters on June 17, Israeli Major General Nitzan Alon said: “We are fighting Hamas, a cruel terror organization. The operation against it is complicated and protracted. It didn’t start today and it’s not going to end anytime soon.” Alon added that the heads of Hamas are “feeling the hits and understand the message.”
Full story at VICE News
See also: Palestinian FM: Israel May Have Fabricated Kidnapping
Against the Grain 
Actually, as widely reported, the travel restrictions in Hebron have now been almost completely lifted and the Israeli security forces publically stated that the operation will now move on to the intelligence level rather than field searches. So the “crackdown” shows all signs of “letting up”. And the three teenagers did not “disappear” but were, in fact, kidnapped.
Oh, that’s great to hear. I suppose everything is back then to the ‘normal’ harassment and terrorisation of the Palestinian population.
Well, things are back to normal, accept for the families of the 3 kidnapped Israeli children. Still no sign of them, and I can only imagine the terror they and their families are going through.
Perhaps they should have thought about that before they settled illegally on someone else’s land.
Yes, of course, its the victim’s fault. Any 16 year old must take responsibility about where his parents chose to live, even if 2 out of the 3 kidnapped live in areas under Israeli control since 1948.
I guess if you’d be in charge in Israel, you’d kidnap any Arab illegally infiltrating into Israel, too, without even letting their mothers and fathers know where they are and what has happened to them. Go Keld!
Playing the ‘victim’s role’ has always worked very well for the Israelis. And so has the endless fake ‘peace talks’. They are just meant as distractions to grab even more Palestinian land. But luckily, it now seems the world has become sick of Israel and its insanities. Go Michael!
You’re generalizing now, and your response has nothing to do with my comment. It is about Israel’s search for 3 kidnapped teenagers. They are, indeed, victims of criminal, abusive kidnapping. You are attempting to justify this brutal kidnapping by claiming its their own fault. Also, as I’ve mentioned in the original comment, the travel restrictions in Hebron and around it have been lifted by now, although the operation to free the three abducted children and punish those responsible for this hideous crime continues on other levels. So this article you posted is rather not up-to-date and is misinforming about the situation and its causes (which is the kidnapping of three children). But I don’t think it bothers you much.
No, I’m not “generalizing”. Notice the title says “… Not About the Missing Teens” which means other objectives are at play here. However tragic the (possible) kidnapping is for the kids and their families, Israel has used it as a justification to crack down on the Palestinians in a most brutal manner. As the article says, “Operation Brother’s Keeper,” has killed five Palestinians, arrested at least 361, raided some 1,600 locations. Seems rather disproportionate to me, but I don’t think it bothers you much!
No, its not only about finding the kidnapped children (what do you mean “possible” – are you suggesting they are just runaway teens that play a prank?). Its also about trying to prevent those who stand behind the kidnapping from repeating this. If the security forces trying to locate kidnapped teenagers come under attack, I expect them to respond, and yes, some of the attackers may get killed. If a terrorist organization kidnaps your citizens, you crack down on it. What would be a “proportional” response – kidnap a few Arab children? And no, arresting suspects is not the same – those detained have lawyers, their families know where they are and can visit them and call them, and they get medical aid if they need it.
Or should Israel deal with it Soviet-style? Would that be “proportional”? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alpha_Group#Foreign_operations
I hope you never have to experience such an ordeal as the families of the kidnapped, but should you be a vicitm of a crime, of any kind, I also hope nobody will suggest it is somehow your fault, like you just did.
It’s not known yet whether the ‘kidnapping’ is a prank, a false flag or a real incident, but whatever it turns out to be, you can’t claim to have any legal rights when you settle illegally on someone else’s land. In fact, the occupation itself is illegal according to international law, so the only ‘proportional’ response from Israeli side would be to leave the occupied territories as quickly as possible and pay compensations for all the damages they have done over the years.
So you repeat the curious notion that a child is fully responsible to where his parents choose to live and can be kidnapped as a punishment (even if he or she is not living in the “occupied” territories but merely visiting). You blame the victim for the crime. As you nicely put it, any illegal immigrant is a fair game and has lost any rights by crossing a border.
Sadly, it is now known that it was no prank or a “false flag. The three teenagers were executed by their kidnappers shortly after being abducted. The searches yielded results – their bodies have been discovered. Also, the travel restrictions and intensive operations probably prevented the killers from moving the bodies from the hideout, and now they can not be used as leverage in forcing Israel to release other convicted murderers. The names and faces of the criminals responsible for the killing of 3 innocent teenagers have been published and they will be served justice.
And so what? That won’t bring back the five Palestinians they have killed during the search or help the hundreds of Palestinian children the Jewish terror troops have kidnapped and tortured. What a hypocrite you are!
Your argumentation is running in circles. Also known as trolling. Try another record next time!