Two Palestinians, including 13-year-old boy, killed during West Bank raids linked to search for three 'abducted' Israeli teenagers

Mohammed Dodeen, 13, and Mustafa Aslan, 23, were shot dead by the Israeli military during raids this morning



A total of three Palestinians have been killed during raids by Israeli soldiers in the West Bank this week alone

Deaths come as Israel cracks down on Palestinians linked to Hamas following alleged abduction of three teens



Over the past week, troops have searched hundreds of locations in the West Bank and arrested 300 Palestinians

Deaths come as Israel condemns United Nations for refusing to say the missing teenagers had been abducted




Two Palestinians, including a 13-year-old boy, have been killed by Israeli soldiers carrying out raids linked to the search for three teenagers believed to have been abducted in the West Bank.

Mohammed Dodeen, whose funeral has already taken place, is believed to have been killed by a bullet to the chest during army raids in Dura refugee camp in the Palestinian territory this morning.

The army also opened fire during a raid in the nearby Qalandiya refugee camp, leaving three Palestinians seriously wounded, and killing 23-year-old Mustafa Aslan - bringing the total number killed during raids by Israeli soldiers this week to three.



The deaths come as Israel condemned the United Nations for refusing to say the missing teenagers had been abducted, condemning their stance on the matter as 'hypocritical', as well as ' out of touch, out of line and out of time'.

Grief: Mohammed Dodeen (pictured) is believed to have been killed by a bullet to the chest during army raids in Dura refugee camp in the Palestinian territory this morning. The army also opened fire during a raid in the nearby Qalandiya refugee camp

Funeral: Mohammed Dodeen's death came during a raid in Dura by the Israeli army. Over the past week, thousands of soldiers have searched locations in the West Bank and arrested more than 300 Palestinians, many from Hamas. The total number of Palestinians killed by the soldiers during the raids now stands at three

Anger: A large number of Palestinians carry the body of 13-year-old Mohamed Dodeen during his funeral in the West Bank village of Dura this afternoon

Outpouring: Hundreds of Palestinians turned out for the funeral of Mohammed Dodeen. A hospital official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to media, said the 13-year-old was killed by a bullet in the chest

The three Jewish seminary students disappeared June 12 while hitchhiking in the West Bank. Israel has blamed the Islamic militant Hamas group for the apparent abduction, but has offered no proof for the claims.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has used the search to promote two other objectives - a new crackdown on Hamas and an attempt to discredit the Palestinian unity government formed earlier this month by Western-backed President Mahmoud Abbas, which is supported by Hamas.



Hamas has praised the alleged abduction of the teenagers but has not claimed responsibility for it. The group has abducted Israelis in the past to press for the release of thousands of Palestinians held in Israeli prisons.



In Hebron, families of Palestinians arrested recently in Israeli raids protested after weekly Muslim prayers. They gestured with three fingers, one for each missing teen, in a sign of their support for the alleged abduction.



The gesture has become popular on social media among Palestinians and others who support the abductions of Israelis.



In a video posted on YouTube yesterday, Israel accused the UN of hypocrisy for it's stance on the matter.

Secretary General Ban Ki-moon initially expressed solidarity with the teens' families and called for them to be released, but the UN subsequently went back on the statement, saying it could not prove that the three boys had been kidnapped.

Israel's mission to the UN expressed anger at the statement, adding: 'The UN is out of touch, out of line and out of time.'



Arrests: The Israeli military said it conducted raids in four towns and refugee camps early this morning, detaining 25 suspects and searching about 200 locations. They said they had searched nine institutions linked to Hamas and had confiscated various material

Tears: Mohammed Dodeen's grandmother (left) and his mother Aida (right) were among the hundreds of Palestinians to attend the 13-year-old's funeral this afternoon



Arrests: The Israeli military said it conducted raids in four towns and refugee camps early this morning, detaining 25 suspects and searching about 200 locations. The admitted searching nine institutions linked to Hamas and confiscated materials

Shooting: The Israeli army confirmed soldiers used live fire during the raids, but insisted they they were only responding to life-threatening situations. They added that their soldiers engaged in sporadic confrontations with Palestinians

Numbers: Palestinians threw homemade explosives, firebombs, fireworks and stones in response to the raids, the Israeli military said. In the Qalandiya refugee camp, a soldier was lightly hurt by a grenade thrown at the many troops involved in the operation

Over the past week, thousands of Israeli troops have searched hundreds of locations in the West Bank and arrested more than 300 Palestinians, many from Hamas.

The Israeli military said it conducted raids in four towns and refugee camps early this morning, detaining 25 suspects and searching about 200 locations.

The army said it searched nine institutions linked to Hamas and confiscated materials.



In one raid, in the town of Dura near Hebron, Palestinian youths threw stones at soldiers, drawing army fire.



A hospital official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to media, said 13-year-old Mohammed Dodeen was killed by a bullet in the chest. The official had earlier said he was 15.



The army also opened fire during a raid in the Qalandiya refugee camp, where three Palestinians were seriously wounded, said Ahmed Bitawi, director of Ramallah's hospital. One of the three, 23-year-old Mustafa Aslan, later died of his wounds.



The army confirmed soldiers used live fire, saying they were responding to life-threatening situations, and added that the troops engaged in sporadic confrontations during Friday's raids.

Palestinians threw homemade explosives, firebombs, fireworks and stones, the military said. In Qalandiya, a soldier was lightly hurt by a grenade thrown at troops, it said.



Target: One of the locations hit during yesterday's raids was the office of the Islamic student union at the West Bank's Bir Zeit University (pictured). A military spokesman said Hamas paraphernalia was confiscated as well as computers and databases, which are now being searched

Crackdown: Israeli soldiers take position near the science faculty during a night raid at the West Bank University of Birzeit, near Ramallah last night. A senior Israeli intelligence officer today said that anyone it suspects of links to Hamas is potentially a target for arrest

Hunt: Over the past week, thousands of Israeli troops have searched hundreds of locations in the West Bank and arrested more than 300 Palestinians, many from Hamas

Suspicions: Israeli soldiers surround the Islamic Charitable Society in the West Bank as the prepare to enter the building due to suspected links with Hamas

A senior Israeli intelligence officer today said that anyone linked to Hamas was potentially a target for arrest.

He acknowledged that despite recent government declarations of a major crackdown on Hamas, both Israel and Abbas' Palestinian Authority have already dismantled much of the movement's West Bank infrastructure in recent years.

'But there are a lot of small places that are supporting Hamas," he said, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with military briefing regulations.



'We'll go to every place that has a sign of Hamas on it, and we're going to hit it. Whether it's small or large. We really don't look only for the big symbols. There are no big symbols ... the Palestinian Authority did it [the crackdown] before and we did it.'



One of the locations targeted yesterday was the office of the Islamic student union at the West Bank's Bir Zeit University. A military spokesman said Hamas paraphernalia were confiscated as well as computers and databases, which are being searched.

