The Israeli army on Sunday decided to relocate hundreds of soldiers from the occupied Syrian Golan Heights to the southern West Bank city of Hebron to search for missing settlers.
The Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth quoted an unnamed Israeli source as saying that the soldiers had already ended their services in the Golan.
It said hundreds of soldiers are now on the way to Hebron to take part in home-to-home search for the three settlers.
Three teenage Jewish settlers went missing late Thursday in the southern West Bank.
Though no group has claimed responsibility, Israeli Premier Benjamin Netanyahu accused Hamas Sunday of abducting the three.
The Israeli army has cordoned off the West Bank city of Hebron as part of search efforts for the three Jewish teenage settlers.
It has also closed down all crossings with the Gaza Strip.
Israeli forces have earlier detained around dozens of Hamas leaders during pre-dawn raids on their West Bank homes.
The detainees included former ministers, lawmakers and mosque preachers, according to the Palestinian NGO Palestinian Prisoners' Club.
By Alaa Rimawi
englishnews@aa.com.tr
www.aa.com.tr/en