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JERUSALEM (AP) — A Palestinian from the militant group Hamas was shot dead when he threw a grenade at forces carrying out an arrest raid in the West Bank hours after the discovery of the bodies of three Israeli teenagers who were abducted over two weeks ago, Israel's military said Tuesday.

Tensions have soared since the bodies were found, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu blaming Hamas and warning it "will pay," while militants in Hamas-controlled Gaza have stepped up rocket attacks, drawing Israeli retaliatory airstrikes and risking a wider conflict.

Eyal Yifrah, 19, Gilad Shaar, 16, and Naftali Fraenkel, a 16-year-old with dual Israeli-American citizenship, were abducted on June 12 while hitchhiking home from the Jewish seminaries where they were studying near the West Bank city of Hebron. The teens' bodies were found Monday evening after 18 days of intense searches.

A Defense official said based on the investigation that the teens were shot soon after they were abducted. He spoke anonymously in line with protocol as the investigation is still ongoing.

Hamas, which has kidnapped Israelis in the past, has praised the abduction of the teenagers but not taken responsibility for it.

In Gaza, Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri warned Israel against any broad offensive against the group, saying it would "open the gates of hell" on Israel.

Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon issued a statement Tuesday vowing to find those behind the killings. "We see Hamas responsible for the kidnappings and murders. We will continue to pursue the murderers of the teens and will not rest until we lay our hands on them," he said.

The man killed Tuesday was the first casualty since the bodies were found.

A military spokesman meanwhile said aircraft struck 34 targets across Gaza overnight after more than 20 rockets were fired into Israel since late Sunday from the Palestinian territory.

In an operation codenamed "Brother's Keeper," Israel dispatched thousands of troops across the West Bank in search of the youths, closed roads in the Hebron area and arrested some 400 Hamas operatives throughout the territory.

There is a national spirit of solidarity in Israel, a small country with an "all for one and one for all" mentality that stems from compulsory military service for Jewish citizens, and news of the teens' deaths prompted an outpouring of grief.

Large crowds of Israelis went to the homes of the families in the central Israeli towns of Nof Ayalon and Elad, and the West Bank settlement of Talmon, to pay their respects, while supporters lit memorial candles and prayed.

Large gatherings were also held in Tel Aviv's central Rabin Square, and at the West Bank junction where the youths were abducted, with Israelis singing hymns and songs, praying and lighting candles shaped in the names of the youths or the Jewish Star of David.

Thousands of Israelis have died in wars and militant attacks over the years, and Israel has grappled with the abduction of soldiers and civilians in the past. But the ages of the victims, and the fact that they were unarmed civilians, struck a raw nerve.

"Today is really a national mourning day in Israel," said Eitan Schwartz, from the Tel Aviv municipality.

Israel has said two well-known Hamas operatives from Hebron are the primary suspects. The men, Marwan Qawasmeh and Amer Abu Aisheh, have not been seen since the teens went missing, and military officials said the search for them would continue.

Israeli soldiers blew up a door of Abu Aisheh's home in Hebron early Tuesday, said an Israeli military official, speaking on condition of anonymity due to protocol. AP photos show extensive damage to one side of the house.

Netanyahu met with top security officials late into the night Monday to discuss how to respond, and officials are expected to resume deliberations on Tuesday.

After a two-week crackdown on Hamas in the West Bank, few major targets remain there. Hamas had already been weakened by seven years of pressure by Israel and the forces of Western-backed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

Israel could turn its attention toward the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip, where it has been battling a surge in rocket fire since the teens went missing.

The intensified rocket attacks have lightly injured several Israelis, damaged houses and destroyed a factory. One rocket fired by the Palestinian militants exploded prematurely in Gaza last week, killing a Palestinian girl.

Israel also might consider stronger political action. The crisis has escalated already heightened tensions between Israel and the new Palestinian government, which is headed by Abbas but backed by Hamas.

Hamas, an offshoot of the region-wide Muslim Brotherhood, is deeply rooted in Palestinian society. The movement's political goal is an Islamic state in all of historic Palestine, including the territory that now makes up Israel.

Israel and its Western allies consider Hamas, which has killed hundreds of Israelis in suicide bombings and other attacks, a terrorist group.

Netanyahu's spokesman Mark Regev called on Abbas "to break his alliance with these killers."

"This atrocity, this murder of innocent teenagers on their way home from school, is a clear example. It demonstrates that Hamas has not changed. It remains a vicious, vile terrorist organization that targets every Israeli civilian man, woman and as we've seen, children as well," he said.

The slain teens are to be laid to rest Tuesday afternoon.

CAIRO (AP) — By declaring the establishment of an Islamic caliphate, the extremist group that controls large swaths of Syria and Iraq is claiming to be the successor of the political and religious community established by the Prophet Muhammad.

The caliphate is a powerful ideal — the concept of a nation of Muslims worldwide ruled by Shariah law under a caliph who holds both spiritual and secular authority. There have been multiple caliphates over Islam's 1,400-year history, with the greatest Muslim empires ruling from Morocco to Central Asia.

The caliphate as an institution lost its authority centuries ago, becoming just a tool of secular rulers to give themselves religious backing. It was formally abolished in 1920 by Turkey's secular founder Mustafa Kamal Ataturk. And while many Muslims long for the unified community of the prophet's era, only a radical fringe are likely to see the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant as its heir.

Here is a look at the history of the caliphate.

THE RIGHTLY GUIDED CALIPHS: The term caliphate comes from the Arabic word meaning succession, and the caliph is the title of those who assume the mantle of Muhammad as Muslims' spiritual and political leader. The first four leaders of the community who followed Muhammad in the 7th century are considered the purest expression of the caliphate — Abu Bakr, Omar, Othman and Ali.

Chosen by "shura" — or consultation among Muslims — they led the community in its dramatic expansion from the Arabian Peninsula to rule over North Africa and the Middle East.

But the succession also carried the seeds of dispute. Shiites believe Ali should have directly succeeded Muhammad and leadership should have stayed in his line of the family. The wars that resulted — eventually leading to Ali's death in 661— solidified the Sunni-Shiite split that is now being violently played out in parts of the Mideast.

UMAYYADS AND ABBASIDS: After Ali's death, the caliphate moved to the Umayyad dynasty ruling from Damascus, which turnedd the caliph into a hereditary position. The dynasty ruled for nearly 100 years until it was defeated by the Abbasids, who claimed descent from an uncle of Muhammad.

The Abbasid caliphs, ruling from Baghdad, presided over Islam's golden age, patronizing scientists, Islamic scholars, philosophers and poets — some of whom celebrated drinking, romance and other courtly pursuits in verses that would be brutally punished by today's ultraconservative Islamic State. But as the dynasty declined, often the caliph was reduced to a religious figurehead as other warring clans grabbed secular power.

Finally, the Mongols sacked Baghdad in 1258, ending the Abbasid dynasty. They are said to have killed the caliph at the time, al-Mustasim, by rolling him up in a carpet and trampling him with their horses.

It was a shattering blow to the already dwindling claim of a universal caliphate leading all Muslims. His heirs fled to Cairo, and while they kept the title of caliph, they were reduced to pawns of Egypt's Mamluk rulers.

OTTOMANS: As the Ottoman Empire became the pre-eminent Islamic power in the 15th and 16th centuries, its sultans claimed leadership of the entire Muslim world, eventually taking on the title of caliph, which was enshrined in the constitution in 1876. However, many Sunni scholars disputed their claim, arguing that the caliph must come from Muhammad's Arab tribe.

The Ottoman Empire was dismembered after World War I. Ataturk abolished the caliphate in 1924, removing the last caliph Abdulmecid II.

MODERN DREAMS: Nearly all Sunni political Islamist movements dream of the eventual resurrection of the caliphate, most by political means, though jihadi groups call for establishing it by violence. It has been the ultimate ambition of al-Qaida, but while its late leader Osama bin Laden could once claim leadership of the international jihadi movement, he never went so far as to declare himself caliph.

The Islamic State is hoping to rally extremists to its side. But even the militant camp is divided. Al-Qaida ejected the Islamic State from its network. Islamic militants in Syria have been battling the Islamic State since January, accusing it of hijacking the uprising against President Bashar Assad for its own transnational purposes.

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Malaysia said Tuesday a junior military official at its diplomatic mission in New Zealand returned home in disgrace using diplomatic immunity last month after being charged with sexual assault.

Foreign Minister Anifah Aman told reporters that a defense ministry panel will investigate Second Warrant Office Muhammad Rizalman bin Ismail, 38, and "stern action will be taken" if he is found guilty. It was not immediately clear what punishment he faced under Malaysia's military rules.

"Diplomatic immunity is not a license for them to commit crime," he said.

Anifah said Muhammad Rizalman worked at the Malaysian High Commission in Wellington for the past year as a defense staff assistant when he was detained on May 9 for allegedly following a 21-year-old woman home and assaulting her.

He was charged the next day with burglary and assault with the intent to rape, each of which carries a maximum prison sentence of 10 years. He returned home with his family on May 22.

Anifah said the accused will be sent back to New Zealand "if it is absolutely necessary." Asked to elaborate, Anifah said "I will consider sending him back" if New Zealand thinks that the Malaysian investigation is not being conducted properly and requests his extradition.

He said that initially Malaysia was willing to waive diplomatic immunity so that he could be tried in New Zealand. "But during discussions on May 12, the New Zealand side offered an alternative for the accused to be brought back to Malaysia," he said. "It was never our intention to treat the matter lightly."

However, New Zealand's Prime Minister John Key earlier indicated that his government would have preferred to keep the man in New Zealand and try him there. But Malaysia "stopped us from doing that by invoking diplomatic immunity," he said.

The differing versions of the events could not be immediately reconciled.

New Zealand officials released documents late Tuesday that appear to back its account: A May 10 note from New Zealand officials asking for Malaysia to waive immunity and a May 21 response from the Malaysian High Commission saying Malaysia didn't plan to do that and had decided to repatriate Muhammad Rizalman "as soon as possible."

In the response, the Malaysian High Commission also asked New Zealand officials to seal all the records in the case and drop all charges.

However, New Zealand officials did not offer any immediate response to Anifah's claims about a May 12 meeting and deal.

Anifah said bilateral ties will not be hurt because Malaysia is cooperating closely with New Zealand.

He said the accused was sent for medical checkup after his return. "His physical state is satisfactory. However he is now under psychiatric evaluation to assess his mental and emotional condition," said Anifah.

The defense ministry has established a board of inquiry to investigate the case thoroughly and has given an assurance that "it will not compromise or conceal any facts on the case being fully aware that Malaysia's good name is at stake," he said. "The Malaysian government acknowledges that the incident is a serious matter and we do not have any intention to sweep the matter under the carpet."

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Perry reported from Wellington, New Zealand.

CHICAGO (AP) — An evacuation slide inflated inside a United Airlines plane as it flew from Chicago to Southern California, filling part of the cabin and prompting the pilot to make an emergency landing in Kansas.

Passenger Mike Schroeder said he was sitting in the front row of the plane bound for Orange County, California, late Sunday when he heard a hiss and pop behind him.

Schroeder, 58, turned around and saw the Boeing 737-700's evacuation slide inflating. The slide — which would normally inflate outside the plane in an emergency — filled the galley.

"I thought to myself, 'I hope there is no one in the restroom because if they are they're not coming out for a long time,'" he said in a telephone interview.

United Airlines officials said in a statement that no one aboard Flight 1463 was injured.

United said the plane would be flown without passengers to a larger airport for a complete inspection to determine how and why the slide accidentally deployed. Spokeswoman Christen David said she had no details about whether the incident would trigger additional inspections or whether similar incidents had occurred on other United aircraft. Federal aviation officials were investigating.

In November, a JetBlue flight from Florida to Boston had to be diverted when a slide partially deployed toward the aircraft's galley. A message was left Monday with JetBlue seeking the results of its investigation.

"There is no lever or button to push to directly deploy the slide," said Patrick Smith, a longtime commercial pilot, host of a website, AskThePilot.com, and author of "Cockpit Confidential: Everything You Need to Know About Air Travel." That, he said, all but rules out "any sort of prank or intentional act."

He said if there is an emergency landing or another emergency that requires a quick evacuation, opening the doors will cause the slide to deploy outside the plane so passengers and crew can slide down. He said occasionally in a non-emergency situation a crew member will forget to disarm the mechanism that triggers deployment of the slide, causing it to inflate as the door is opened.

But because there is no way to open a door while a plane is in flight, he suspects a mechanical malfunction caused the latest incident.

Smith said the slide inflating in such a small area could be harmful to anyone in the immediate vicinity, but that the slide does not inflate with enough force to "push through the side of the cabin."

Schroeder, a lawyer from Newport Beach, California, said he was surprised at how calm all the passengers were, with many — himself included — snapping photos of the slide with their cellphones. For a short time, he said, lights went out and movies stopped playing along the left side of the plane.

The pilot announced that the plane had not lost cabin pressure and that he was looking for somewhere to land; a couple of minutes later the pilot said they would be landing at Wichita's Mid-Continent Airport. The plane went into what Schroeder described as "a steep decline," but the landing was uneventful. The plane was escorted to the terminal by a fire truck.

"When the pilot came out right after landing he said, 'Oh golly, I've never seen that before,'" Schroeder said.