Gilad Sha'er (16), Eyal Yifrah (19), and Naftali Frenkel (16), were returning home from their school in the Gush Etzion area of the West Bank when they were abducted by Hamas terrorists last week.

Sandy Springs Mayor Rusty Paul and Deputy Consul General of Israel Ron Brummer offered remarks at Wednesday’s event, organized by Chabad Israeli Center Atlanta and supported by a number of community partners.

Said Deputy Consul General Brummer, “Israelis cannot and should not have to accept a reality where our children live under fear of such terror; where, as parents, we fear that our children may not return safely home after the school day.”

Mayor Paul expressed his outrage at the terrorist activity, and received cheers of support from attendees upon stating that his office would officially call for the suspension of aid to the Palestinian Authority until the Israeli teenagers are returned home safely.  

Since the boys’ disappearance, IDF and Israeli security forces have launched a widespread and exhaustive search operation—Operation Brother’s Keeper—which has resulted in hundreds of arrests and the confiscation of weapons and explosives hidden in Palestinian stockpiles.

Soon after the verification of Hamas’s involvement, terrorist organizations praised the attack and urged Palestinians to hamper the IDF’s efforts to locate the boys. Senior Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad officials have called for the kidnapping of more Israelis, with the insidious intention of trading them for convicted terrorists.

On behalf of the U.S Government, Secretary of State John Kerry issued a condemnation of the kidnapping last week. On Tuesday, European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton condemned the kidnapping and called for the immediate release of the teenagers.