The final moments • The words "we were kidnapped" were heard, followed by gunshots

July 1, 2014   

The security establishment is increasingly assessing that the kidnapping was carried out in the following manner:

At 10:20 PM, the boys got into the car, and very quickly - within a few seconds - realized that they were in the midst of a kidnapping.

One of the boys, Gil-Ad Shaar, calls 100 and manages to whisper, "We've been kidnapped, we've been kidnapped.".

The terrorists, Qawasma and Abu Aisha, discover the call, change their plan to keep the boys, or at least some of them, alive, and shoot the three boys on the spot. It is possible that they feared that they would not be able to control the three boys, and it is also possible that they do not know that the phone call that reached the call center would not be handled immediately, and they fear that at any moment the police could come after them.

This assessment receives significant support in light of the fact that in the phone call to the police hotline, in addition to the words "we were kidnapped," gunshots are also heard in the background. The terrorists' vehicle travels from the Gush Etzion junction westward, then makes a U-turn southward - to Halhul.

• Sad end to kidnapping • Bodies of Gil-Ad, Eyal and Naftali found

At a certain point along the way, the terrorists switch to a replacement vehicle, into which they also transfer the bodies of the three murdered boys, set fire to the kidnapping vehicle, and continue towards Halhul. The burned car contains holsters for a pistol and a rifle, which reinforces the initial assessment that the boys were murdered near the time of the kidnapping.

North of the town of Halhul, in Khirbet Arnave, the murderers hastily remove the bodies of the boys, dig a shallow pit, and bury the boys in it. Then they cover the burial site with bushes, plastic sheets, and stones.

In their haste, they leave slight traces of glasses (see separate article) that the civilian search force found, which led the Shin Bet to order the search to be focused on the location.

From there, the terrorists flee to a hiding place in the area, and wait for the search to subside, in order to negotiate with Israel about the return of the bodies.

The security establishment is assessing this evening that the two terrorists, Qawasma and Abu Aisha, will be captured shortly. Indeed, they did not have time to get far from the Halhul area where they buried the bodies of the 14 teenagers.