On Wednesday night, the security cabinet was set to meet for the third time in 48 hours, to try to agree on Israel’s reaction to the murders. During the previous two meetings, Economy Minister Naftali Bennett, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman and, to some extent, Communications Minister Gilad Erdan, have pressed a rather aggressive line. Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon, Finance Minister Yair Lapid and Justice Minister Tzipi Livni, along with the heads of Israel’s security forces, have been calling for restraint. With pressure from settlers, it is likely that massive construction of thousands of housing units in the settlements will be approved, especially in the Gush Etzion bloc. What remains for the cabinet to decide is the scale of the military response — should the operations continue to focus on Hamas’ infrastructure and network in the West Bank, or should the IDF attack in the Gaza Strip as well?

The heads of Israel’s security forces have urged caution against an irresponsible response in the Gaza Strip, which could trigger a prolonged conflict with Hamas there. As usual, there are three options for possible attack. One, targeting terror organizations’ command centers, offices and storage facilities, is meant to make noise but prevent human casualties. The second would be to target Hamas and Islamic Jihad’s mid-range rocket production and storage facilities. The third would be targeted killing of high-ranking leaders within the terrorist organizations.

Read this article in full at Haaretz.