DHAKA: Israeli security forces have arrested 10 more Palestinians in the West Bank as they press their search for three teenagers believed to have been kidnapped.

The army said on Saturday, reports The Straits Times.

‘Ten people were arrested overnight, bringing to 330 the number of wanted Palestinians arrested since the beginning of the operation,’ a spokesman said.

Israel accuses Hamas of kidnapping two 16-year-olds and a 19-year-old who went missing on June 12 at a hitch-hiking stop in the West Bank, an allegation the Islamist group has dismissed.

Public radio said those arrested included people who had been released from Israeli jails as part of the 2011 deal to free soldier Gilad Shalit, who had been captured and then held by Hamas for five years.

The army declined to confirm that report.

BDST: 1626 HRS, JUNE 21, 2014