Abbas orders finding kidnapped Israelis: official

RAMALLAH (Xinhua) - Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has instructed his security forces to help searching the three Israelis kidnapped on Thursday night in southern West Bank, a Palestinian said on Saturday.

President Abbas met with US Consul in Jerusalem Michael Ratney in the West Bank city of Ramallah and officially informed him of the instructions given to the security forces in the West Bank, the official said.

"President Abbas told Ratney that although the three Israelis were disappeared in area that is under the full Israeli security control in southern West Bank, the security forces will help finding them," the official said.

The Palestinian official also said that the United States refused to hold the Palestinian National Authority responsible for what had happened, but called on the Palestinians to move on all levels to resolve the problem.