Doug Stanglin and Michele Chabin

USA TODAY

JERUSALEM — In a pre-dawn raid Tuesday, Israeli special forces stormed a basement hide-out in the West Bank town of Hebron, killing two Palestinians suspected of the kidnapping and slaying of three Israeli teenagers in June.

The suspects were identified by the Israeli military as Hamas militants Marwan Kawasme, 29, and Amer Abu Aysha, 32. They were tracked down in one of the largest manhunts ever by Israeli security forces.

Eyal Yifrah, 19, Gilad Shaar, 16, and Naftali Fraenkel, a 16-year-old with dual Israeli-American citizenship, were abducted on June 12 while hitchhiking home in the West Bank and killed soon afterward. Their bodies were found under a pile of rocks in a field north of Hebron.

"We said we wouldn't rest until we brought these killers to justice," said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. "This morning we completed our mission."



The gruesome killings outraged Israelis, triggered a mass roundup of suspects in the West Bank by Israeli soldiers and prompted a revenge killing of a Palestinian teen by Jewish extremists. Those incidents led to rioting by Palestinians that escalated into a seven-week war during the summer between Israel and militants from Hamas, the U.S.-designated terrorist group that governs the Gaza Strip.

Despite the suspects' deaths, Hamas negotiators grudgingly agreed to resume negotiations with Israel on Tuesday on a longer-term truce.

"After consultations within the Palestinian delegation and brothers in Gaza and abroad it was decided to continue the Cairo meetings," senior Hamas official Mohammed al-Zahar said.

Al-Zahar said Israel had no right to kill Kawasme and Aysha, but added that Israel must not be permitted to "escape from commitments" it made in the Aug. 26 cease-fire agreement to pursue a lasting peace.

Hamas is demanding that Israel remove its seven-year blockade of Gaza and allow it to build an airport and seaport. Israel wants to demilitarize Hamas — which fired thousands of rockets at Israel from Gaza — and permanently destroy tunnels Hamas has used to obtain weapons and sneak armed fighters into Israel.

Israeli Brig. Gen. Tamir Yadai, commander of the Judea and Samara Division, said security forces had been pursuing the two Palestinian suspects since June 20.

Security forces surrounded them before 1 a.m. Tuesday in a basement carpentry shop, The Jerusalem Post reported, quoting Yadai.

"We were determined in bringing the ruthless murderers of Gilad, Eyal and Naftali to justice," said Lt. Col. Peter Lerner, spokesman for the Israel Defense Forces. "Today's successful mission brings the long-term search to an end, and the perpetrators of the crime no longer pose a threat to Israeli civilians."

On Palestinian radio, Kamel Hmeid, the governor of Hebron, denounced the killings. "We condemn this crime, this assassination, as deliberate and premeditated murder," he said.

Hamas had initially denied involvement in the abduction and killing of the Israeli teens. However, during the Israel-Hamas war, an exiled Hamas leader responsible for West Bank operations disclosed that members of the group had been responsible for the crime.

Stanglin reported from McLean, Va. Contributing: Associated Press