The police found the body of an Arab teenager in the Jerusalem area on Wednesday and were investigating a possible connection to the reported kidnapping of a Palestinian youth in East Jerusalem earlier in the day, a police spokesman said.

The incident occurred only a day after Israel buried three teenagers who had been kidnapped on June 12 and whose bodies were found dead in the West Bank on Monday. As the boys were being laid to rest, a Jerusalem protest deteriorated into an anti-Arab mob, leading the police to arrest a number of Jews who attempted to attack Arabs.

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The possibility the Palestinian teen was kidnapped and killed as part of revenge attack was being investigated, as was the possibility his death was the result of a domestic issue or "honor killing". Ynet has learned that the body was charred and showed signs of violence.





Jerusalem Forest (Photo: Gil Yohanan)

Palestinian residents told a Reuters photographer that they saw a teenager forced into a vehicle outside a supermarket in the Shuafat section of East Jerusalem on Wednesday. Ynet learned the incident took place after the teen left a mosque.

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At the end of a security briefing, Police Commissioner Yohanan Danino said "the police will not allow anyone to take the law into their own hands." The commissioner called on the public to show restraint.

Mosque where teen was allegedly taken from (Photo: Gil Yohanan)

Micky Rosenfeld, a spokesman for the police, said police had been notified of a youth "pulled into a vehicle and possibly kidnapped" and roadblocks were set up in search of suspects. The Shin Bet are also involved in the incident.

Later "police discovered a body in the Jerusalem forest and were looking to see if there was a connection between the missing youth and the body that was found," Rosenfeld said.





Police at the scene (Photo: Gil Yohanan)

A security source speaking on condition of anonymity said Israel suspected the youth had been kidnapped and killed, possibly in retribution for the killings of the Israeli teens.

Late Tuesday, reports were received of another possible attempted retribution kidnapping, also in the East Jerusalem area of Shuafat. According to the report a group of people attempted to force a 10-year-old boy who was walking down the neighborhood's main street with his mother and sisters into their car. However, after a short struggle the boy managed to escape. The police said the incident was not reported and thus could not confirm or deny the report.

Dozens of Israelis had protested in Jerusalem on Tuesday night against the kidnap and killing of the Israeli teens, and there were reports some had shouted "death to the Arabs" at one of these demonstrations.

Jerusalem District Police deployed units to the field to prevent the assault of Arab residents and police confirmed that there was an explosive confrontation between inflamed protesters seeking revenge and the Arab population.

Police forces managed to rescue eight Arabs from the mob and arrested 47 on charges of public disorder, attempted assault of Arab minors, assaulting police officers, and property damage.

Israel has blamed Hamas Islamists for the kidnappings. The group had praised the abductions but not claimed responsibility.

Price tag

Meanwhile, the Palestinians have reported a possible 'price-tag' graffiti attack in Nablus, in what could be another retribution for the death of the teens.

According to the report, the words "Price tag blood vengeance" were scrawled on some shacks in the Palestinian village of Akraba near Nablus early and a livestock feeding pen was set ablaze in what could be yet another possible retribution for the murder of the three Israeli teens.