Israelis, Palestinians condemn killings of 2 Israeli boys

Yossi Ishran, pictured standing next to his photo, and another teen were found stoned to death in a West Bank cave on Wednesday

JERUSALEM (CNN) -- Both Israel and the Palestinian Authority condemned the killing of two Israeli boys, found dead Wednesday in a cave near their West Bank settlement, as Israel blamed Palestinians for their deaths.

Israeli police said the two boys, age 13 and 14 from the Jewish settlement of Tekoah, had been stoned to death. Israeli authorities launched a widespread investigation.

The 13-year-old victim was identified as Yaakov Nathan Mandell. The U.S. State Department confirmed that Mandell and his family were U.S. citizens and had moved to the settlement from Maryland.

The 14-year-old victim was identified as Yossi Ishran.

Members of the Tekoah settlement said the boys had apparently gone off into a ravine instead of attending school on Tuesday. They weren't discovered as missing until later Tuesday night when their parents found the boys had not -- as they had thought -- attended a demonstration calling for tougher Israeli policies to protect Jewish settlements.

VIDEO Settlers want the prime minister to better protect them. CNN's Jerrold Kessel explains (May 9) Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media)    AUDIO CNN's Jerrold Kessel: More children killed 800K/84 secs. AIFF or WAV sound Sharon blames Palestinians 990K/91 secs. AIFF or WAV sound Mitchell Report denounces Jewish settlement growth 690K/64 secs. AIFF or WAV sound    ALSO Pope urges end to Mideast violence State Department calls Israeli settlement reports 'provocative'

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon denounced the killings, saying the Palestinian Authority was responsible for not stopping the violence. He also accused the Palestinian media of inciting the fighting.

Top Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat said Palestinians regret any civilian deaths, regardless of what side they are on. He said that there was no proof who was responsible for the boys' killings and that the only way to stop the violence is to resume negotiations with the Israelis.

In recent weeks Sharon has been praising Israeli settlers in the West Bank and Gaza, saying they are "on the front lines of a long war" and should serve as a model for all Israelis.

"It's not occupied territory, but disputed territory, and that is the real thing," Sharon said. "It is disputed territory."

The boys' funeral was to take place Wednesday afternoon.

Meanwhile in Gaza, the Palestine Red Crescent Society blamed the Israeli army for wounding a 3-month-old Palestinian girl and her mother in the town of Rafah on Wednesday.

Sources at the hospital in Rafah, where the girl and her mother were treated, said they were injured by tank shell fragments.

But the Israeli army denied it had used tanks in Rafah and said it had used only light weapons after being attacked with hand grenades and Molotov cocktails.

A spokesman for the Israel Defense Forces said Palestinians fired two mortar shells, which fell north of Kfar Aza, near Gaza. No damage and no injuries were reported, and the spokesman said the IDF was scanning the area.

Raanan Gissin, a Sharon aide, maintained the prime minister has a policy to handle violence in Palestinian-controlled areas, known as "Areas A."

"The army today has the ability to move in those specific areas -- particularly when there are such events, terrorist events -- to pursue the terrorists, even into Areas A," said Gissin. "And, of course, it does so as part of the self-defense policy."

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