The Hamas mastermind behind the kidnapping and murder of three missing Israeli teens this summer was sentenced to three life sentences.

JNS.org – Hamas terrorist Husam Qawasmeh on Tuesday was sentenced by an Israeli court to three life sentences in prison for planning the abduction and murder of three Israeli teens—Eyal Yifrach, Gilad Shaar, and Naftali Frenkel—last June.

The abduction in Judea and Samaria was a catalyst for the subsequent summer war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.

The three teens were kidnapped during a hitchhiking attempt. They were shot to death shortly after being abducted by the drivers of the vehicle that picked them up, but their bodies were not discovered for 18 days.

Qawasmeh admitted to planning the attack carried out by Marwan Qawasmeh and Amer Abu Aisheh. The attack was funded by a $51,000 transfer from Husam Qawasmeh’s brother, Mahmoud Qawasmeh, a Hamas operative who was released from Israeli prison in the 2011 Gilad Shalit swap deal and deported to the Gaza Strip.

Husam Qawasmeh admitted to purchasing the weapon used in the attack and also to helping bury the bodies of the murdered teens in a field north of Hebron. Additionally, he said he helped remove evidence from the burial site. He was sentenced to 75 years in prison and will be required to pay about $63,000 to the family of each murdered teen, Yedioth Ahronoth reported.