The latest unrest also follows massive Israeli raids on the West Bank and airstrikes on Gaza that have killed around 12 Palestinians since mid-June. Critics say the Israeli government has exploited the teens’ abduction to punish the Palestinian Authority for a unity deal with Hamas and for recent efforts to seek international recognition by joining U.N. conventions. Speaking today in Geneva, U.N. Human Rights Commissioner Navi Pillay said: “From a human rights point of view, I utterly condemn [Palestinian] rocket attacks, and more especially, I condemn Israel’s excessive acts of retaliation.”