The incident occurred the day after Israel buried the three teens, who had been kidnapped near a Jewish settlement on June 12, and whose bodies were found in the West Bank on Monday.
Micky Rosenfeld, a spokesman for Israeli police, said police were notified earlier in the morning that a youth had been “pulled into a vehicle and possibly kidnapped”. He said that roadblocks had been set up in search of suspects.
Later “police discovered a body in the Jerusalem forest and were looking to see if there was a connection between the missing youth and the body that was found,” Rosenfeld said.
A security source speaking on condition of anonymity said Israel suspected the youth had been kidnapped and killed, possibly in retribution for the killings of the Israeli teens. Israeli radio also described the incident as a “suspected revenge attack”.
Israel’s Ynet web site said that the body, which was charred and showed signs of violence, was that of an Arab.
Dozens of Israelis had protested in Jerusalem on Tuesday night against the kidnap and killing of the Israeli teens, and there were reports some had shouted “death to the Arabs” at one such demonstration.
Israel has blamed the kidnappings on the militant group Hamas, which has praised the abductions but not claimed responsibility.
