WASHINGTON (JTA) — The U.N. Security Council condemned the murder of three Israeli teenagers, calling it a “heinous act.”
“The members of the Security Council expressed their profound outrage at and condemned in the strongest terms the killing of three teenagers, whose bodies were discovered near the city of Hebron on 30 June,” a statement issued late Tuesday said.
Such statements are adopted by consensus through email and phone call exchanges among the 15 council members.
The statement extended the condolences of the members to “the families of the victims of this heinous act and to the people and Governments of Israel and the United States.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to find and punish the murderers of Gilad Shaar, Naftali Fraenkel and Eyal Yifrach, whose bodies were found Monday, 18 days after their kidnapping. He has blamed the Hamas terrorist group for the killings. Fraenkel was a dual U.S. citizen.
“The members of the Security Council underlined the need to bring perpetrators of these acts to justice and encouraged Israel and the Palestinian Authority to continue working together to do so,” said the statement, which a source said was initiated by Samantha Power, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.
“They reiterated the need to take appropriate steps to ensure the safety and well-being of civilians and their protection and urged all parties to abide by their obligations under international humanitarian law,” the statement said. “They also urged all parties to refrain from steps that could further destabilize the situation.”
