Hamas says it killed Israeli teenagers

Israel’s Channel 2 News has produced footage of a senior Hamas leader claiming responsibility for the murder of the three Israeli teenagers, Naftali Frenkel, Gil-ad Sha’ar and Eyal Yifrach.

The recording of Hamas official Sheikh Saleh al-Arouri was apparently made during a conference in Turkey. It is the first admission of guilt by Hamas’s armed wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades.

“I praise the brave action that the al-Qassam Brigades carried out, the kidnapping of the three settlers to Hebron,” said al-Arouri. He added that it was probably done on behalf of Palestinian inmates hunger striking in Israeli prisons.

The video clip is currently only available in Arabic with Hebrew subtitles.