A Palestinian teenager was found dead Wednesday in a possible revenge attack for three Israeli teenagers who were found murdered on Monday by suspected Hamas militants.
Muhammad Hussein Abu Khdeir was said to be on his way to prayers when he was snatched, burned and killed, an Israeli news site reported according to ABC News. The 17-year-old's body was found in a forest by police responding to a call Wednesday morning about a boy being forced into a car in East Jerusalem.
"The police started searching for the vehicle connected to the incident," Israeli police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld told CBS News. "An hour later police found a body in the area of Jerusalem forest."
Palestinians outraged by the death rioted and hurled stones at Israeli police, forcing them to use tear gas and heighten security around Jerusalem, ABC News reported. Extra units have been mobilized as police conduct their investigation into the teen's death, Rosenfeld said.
The body was found just hours after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke at a funeral for the three Israeli teens found dead in the West Bank- Gilad Shaar, 16, Eyal Yifrah, 19, and 16-year-old Naftali Fraenkel.
"This day has turned into a national day of mourning," the prime minister said as thousands gathered to pay their respects to the slain boys.
The death of the teens- who were kidnapped on June 12 and were missing for nearly three weeks- has sparked a crackdown on Hamas militants in Gaza and the West Bank. Hundreds of suspected Palestinians have already been arrested by Israeli Defense Forces in search for the abductors.
Hamas, an Islamic militant group based in Gaza, has said it was not responsible for the murders and has threatened war upon Netanyahu if he retaliates against them.
On Wednesday Netanyahu urged the public not to resort to violence after news of the Palestinian's death broke.
"The Prime Minister calls on all sides not to take the law into their own hands and noted that Israel is a nation of laws and everyone must act according to the law," according to a statement obtained by ABC News.
