Danino criticized over police handling of teens' abduction
Police commissioner took 67 hours to return to Israel from the US following kidnapping; police first thought call from one of the teens saying 'we've been kidnapped!' was a prank call.
Police thought the call made by one of the abducted teens, who whispered "we've been kidnapped!" seconds after he got into the kidnappers' car, was a prank call, Channel 10 reported on Sunday evening.
According to the report, a female soldier serving in the police who received the call brought it to the attention of higher-ranked officers to listen, who decided that this was a prank caller.
The police's 100 call center received the call at 10:25 pm on Thursday evening. It is still unclear what the nature of the information the police received was. It may have been choppy and partial.
Police failed to report the call to the IDF and Shin Bet. It was only around 3 am, when the father of one of the teens arrived at the station to report his son missing, that the police realized there was a concrete possibility the teens had been kidnapped. It was only then that the search for the three began.
A senior army official noted that the IDF "knew about the abduction of the three teens in the early hours of Friday morning. As soon as we receive such information, we take it seriously and act quickly to rule out the possibility the teens' disappearance was unrelated to security considerations."
"We immediately realized this was serious and got the relevant bodies in actions. Those who need to investigate their conduct should do so. It's important to understand they went missing in the Judea and Samaria region, so the 12-hour wait policy does not apply," the senior army official added.
Police Commissioner Yohanan Danino refused to respond to journalists' questions about the nature of the information police received that night, and police's failure to respond to the 100 call on time.
In a statement to the press made upon his return from a conference in the United States, Danino said that "at this time, the main job for all of us without exception is to focus on the task of getting to these teens."
"I heard the criticism and I'm telling you - we won't ignore anything that needs to be investigated, but we have to do it at the appropriate time."
Upon landing, Danino held a situation assessment at the Ben Gurion Airport.
Danino, in particular, has been criticized for taking 67 hours to return to Israel from the time the 100 call was made.
Police said the commissioner returned as soon as he could, but a look into the Israel Airports Authority's website shows at least four direct flights from New York to Tel Aviv in the past 24 hours.
Since being appointed chief of police, Danino went on 13 trips abroad and spent over 100 days in total outside of Israel, Army Radio reported on Monday morning.
According to the report, Danino made far more trips abroad than previous commissioners, who made three to five trips during their terms.
Italy Blumental and Meir Turjeman contributed to this report.
