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Itongadol.- Thousands of people gathered in Tel Aviv\’s Rabin Square on Sunday evening for a rally calling for the release of the three Israeli teens who were kidnapped more than two weeks ago.
Speakers at the rally, held under the banner "Singing Together for their Return," were to include the teens\’ families, Israel\’s president-elect Reuven Rivlin and singers such as Miri Mesika, Rami Kleinstein, Kobi Oz, Zvika Pik, Dudu Fisher and Lior Narkis.
"The prayer for the welfare of the boys must go out not only from the synagogues, but also from the mosques during Ramadan," said Rivlin.
"This is a rally of togetherness," said emcee Avri Gilad. "Speak with the people standing next to you who look different from you and you\’ll see that the differences aren\’t so great."
Some 2,000 people confirmed their attendance on the event\’s Facebook page, which called on all Israelis to come "sing in the square with Israel\’s best artists for the teens\’ return and for unity and fraternity."
The three teens, Naftali Fraenkel, Gilad Shaar and Eyal Yifrah were kidnapped on June 19 from a hitchhiking station near the West Bank settlement of Gush Etzion. A massive operation was launched in the Hebron area following the abduction, and Israeli politicians and security sources have said from the beginning that they believed Hamas was behind the kidnapping.