BICOM

Israel’s security cabinet met late last night for the second time in 24 hours, to further consider the government’s response to the kidnapping and murder of three Israeli teenagers.

Eyal Yifrah, 19, Gilad Shaer, 16, and Naftali Frenkel, 16, were buried yesterday, having been abducted almost three weeks ago. Last week Israel named two Hamas members from the Hebron area, who have been missing since the abduction, as the prime suspects.

Shortly after the funeral, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke ahead of the security cabinet meeting, saying “There are three missions ahead of us: First, to find the murderers and everyone involved in the kidnapping,” pledging “We will reach them all, even if it takes us time.” Netanyahu continued, “Second, we will weaken Hamas’s infrastructure and manpower,” in the West Bank, outlining some of the measures taken so far, including arrests of Hamas members. Netanyahu added that the third mission would be to act against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, saying “If necessary, we will expand the operation as far as required.” Rockets have been fired from the Hamas-administered area into southern Israel on an almost daily basis over the last two weeks.

Media reports suggest divergent opinions within the security cabinet regarding Israel’s potential response. During Monday’s cabinet meeting Economy Minister Naftali Bennett is reported to have argued for large-scale operations in the Gaza Strip. However, this was apparently opposed by Defence Minister Moshe Ya’alon, who Haaretz says warned such action would lead to “escalation… to the point of war.” Ya’alon is said to have suggested West Bank settlement construction as a response to the killings, an idea vehemently opposed by Justice Minister Tzipi Livni.

Meanwhile, during a debate in the House of Commons yesterday, Middle East Minister Hugh Robertson condemned the murders as an “appalling act of terror” without justification. At the same time, he called on all parties to “avoid action that could escalate the situation further,” saying that “all security operations must be handled with due care, restraint and a proportionate use of force.”