A senior IDF source said Thursday that the search for the three Israeli teens kidnapped by Hamas terrorists last Thursday suggests that Hamas leadership abroad, and particularly in Turkey, is behind the abduction.

The source told Walla! that in particular Salah al-Arouri, a Hamas leader living in Turkey, has been a key source behind terror attacks in Judea and Samaria in recent years.

Reports last December revealed that Turkey has replaced Iran as the leading financial backer of Hamas since 2012; Turkey is the only NATO member to recognize Hamas. According to the reports, Ankara has hosted a Hamas presence, led by al-Arouri, which facilitates operations and cash transfers, mostly to Judea and Samaria.

The source noted that al-Arouri in the past lived in a village to the north of Ramallah in Samaria, and has been a major force in founding terror cells in Judea and Samaria, funding and training them to conduct kidnapping attacks.

While Israel still doesn’t have the “smoking gun” proving al-Arouri’s involvement, the source said “I have no doubt that al-Arouri’s hand is behind this.”

“You have to understand that this isn’t a normal army, and there’s no direct command but rather a general directive, and currently the directive remains unchanged – to conduct abduction attacks,” commented the source.

In the last two years dozens of delegates for al-Arouri have visited Judea and Samaria according to the source, arriving through Jordan. While several of them were arrested, the security system only learned of others as they were on their way back out of Israel.

Those that were arrested had with them money and written messages from al-Arouri himself, specifically ordering Hamas operatives in Judea and Samaria to establish terror cells to conduct kidnapping attacks.

More here.