Israeli soldiers stand guard next to Palestinians standing outside their house during an operation to locate three Israeli teens near the West Bank City of Hebron
Israeli soldiers stand guard next to Palestinians standing outside their house during an operation to locate three Israeli teens near the West Bank City of Hebron Reuters

Israeli forces have re-arrested 51 Palestinians who they had released in 2011 for a prisoner swap deal, as the controversial manhunt for three missing teens believed kidnapped by Hamas in the occupied West Bank continues.

The Islamist group which rules in the Gaza Strip has denied any involvement in the disappearance of 16-year-olds Naftali Frenkel, Gilad Shaar and 19-year-old Eyal Yifrach while hitchhiking from a Jewish settlement.

But Israel has ramped up raids and arrests over the past six days, detaining 65 Palestinians, including 51 who were part of a group of 1,027 prisoners freed by Israel three years ago in return for soldier Gilad Shalit, seized by Hamas.

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"We have two efforts ongoing in parallel. First is to bring back the boys, and the second is to take a toll on Hamas for its actions," spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Peter Lerner said.

Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas used strong words to condemn the abduction, telling ministers of Muslim states gathered in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, that the kidnappers were "seeking the destruction of the Palestinian Authority".

"We are coordinating with (Israel) in order to return those youths because they are human beings and we want to protect the lives of human beings," said Abbas, who also held a rare telephone conversation with Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu.

The IDF (Israeli Defense Forces) confiscated documents and computers from five Hamas charity centres, which are considered a part of the Dawa, the organisation's civilian wing. Netanyahu has praised the latest arrest, which brought the total number of those detained to 240.

A member of the Knesset, Haneen Zoabi, was attacked after she said those who kidnapped three teenagers "are not terrorists".

"Even if I don't agree with them, they are people who don't see any way to change their reality and are forced to use these means until Israel sobers up a bit," she told Radio Tel Aviv.

Foreign minister Avigdor Lieberman, in response, called her a terrorist. "The fate of the kidnappers and the fate of Zoabi, who incites and encourages the terrorists, ought to be the same," he said.

The development came after a Facebook page calling for Israelis to kill a Palestinian 'terrorist' every hour until the three Israeli teenagers are returned to their families has gathered more than 19,000 likes so far.