Israel will mete out punishment to Palestinians who participated in the lynching of two of its soldiers in the West Bank last week, Deputy Defense Minister Ephraim Sneh warned Thursday, according to AFP.
"Israel will dispense justice against everyone who participated in this odious act and nobody can escape us," Sneh told Israel's public radio.
Sneh was speaking after military sources said Israeli special forces had snatched eight Palestinians suspected of taking part in the killings, video footage of which was shown on newscasts worldwide, said the agency.
"I remind everyone what happened to the terrorists, who killed the Israeli athletes at the Olympic Games in Munich in 1972," added Sneh, who is close to Prime Minister Ehud Barak.
However, a PNA source told Albawaba.com Wednesday that the no Palestinian was arrested by Israel's domestic intelligence services, and that Israel's claim was an "attempt by [Israeli Prime Minister Ehud] Barak's government to calm down the Israeli public opinion."
Sneh, meanwhile, was tightlipped about the operation to snatch the Palestinian suspects.
He declined to state whether the operation, which involved Israeli secret service agents and a special army unit, was carried out in Zone A -- the sector of the Palestinian territories entirely under the control of the Palestinian police force, according to AFP.
"Israel respects the accords, which have been signed, but like every state it exercises its right to self-defense," he said.
Hundreds of Palestinians stormed the Ramallah police station where the Israeli soldiers were being held following their arrest by Palestinian police and stabbed and beat them to death - (Several Sources)
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