Missing Israeli teen found ‘murdered’ in West Bank, Netanyahu says

Jerusalem — The body of a missing Israeli teenager was found in the occupied West Bank on Saturday, in what Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called a ‘heinous murder.’

The disappearance Friday of 14-year-old Benjamin Achimeir sparked a huge manhunt and attacks on Palestinian villages.

’The heinous murder of the boy ... is a serious crime,’ Netanyahu said in a statement.

Israeli forces ‘are in an intensive pursuit after the heinous murderers and all those who collaborated with them,’ he said.

Following Achimeir’s disappearance, Israeli security forces and hundreds of volunteers formed a search party.

On Friday afternoon Jewish settlers who were part of the manhunt raided the village of Al-Mughayyir near Malachi Hashalom, according to an AFP reporter.

At least one person was killed and 25 wounded, the Palestinian health ministry said Friday.

The settlers fired off shots and torched numerous homes and cars in the village, while residents responded by throwing stones, AFP reporters saw.

Achimeir went missing early Friday from the Malachi Hashalom outpost near the city of Ramallah.

His body was found nearby, the Israeli army and security forces said.

Hundreds of thousands of Israelis live in West Bank settlements considered illegal under international law.

The incident comes with tensions already high due to the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.

Overnight, the official Palestinian news agency reported that five Palestinians were injured in another settler attack in the Abu Falah village near Ramallah.