Israel to expand operations against Hamas after killings

Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu says Israel will expand its operation against Hamas if necessary and will apprehend everyone involved in the kidnapping of the three yeshiva seminary students killed in the West Bank, whose bodies were discovered on Monday.

Speaking last night, ahead of the second meeting of Israel's security cabinet in as many days, Mr Netanyahu said Israel aimed to substantially weaken Hamas in the West Bank and to operate against the group in the Gaza Strip.

His comments came hours after the joint funeral of the three teenagers in the central Israeli city of Modi’in, attended by thousands of mourners in an outpouring of national grief.

Israel has blamed the Palestinian militant group Hamas for the deaths. Hamas has denied any involvement.

Mr Netanyahu said over the last 18 days, the images of the teenagers had been etched into the heart of the nation.

Cruelty

“Murderers whose cruelty has no bounds did not bat an eye when they violated the ancient command: do not lay a hand on the young,” he said.

The manhunt continues in the West Bank for two Hamas militants from Hebron who Israel said carried out the kidnapping.

As the funerals were taking place about 400 right-wing protestors chanting “death to the Arabs” tried to block the entrance to Jerusalem and the city’s main Jaffa street.

Police intervened to protect Arab passers-by.

Israeli media reported significant divisions within the security cabinet, Israel’s key decision- making forum.

Right-wing ministers argued for an extensive military operation to punish Hamas, combined with expanding settlement construction. Others, including Mr Netanyahu, did not want to respond hastily and proposed a more cautious approach.

Naftali Bennett, head of the far-right Jewish Home party, proposed a major operation against Hamas in Gaza, boosting settlement construction across the West Bank and imposing the death penalty on militants tried by a military court.

He argued that anything but a firm response would undermine Israeli deterrence.

Weak response

“There was a grave incident of a kidnapping of three children who were executed at point- blank range. Such a weak response to an event so severe will guarantee the next kidnapping.”

Defence minister Moshe Ya’alon, considered a hard-liner, warned escalating attacks against Hamas in Gaza could develop into a war. “Do we really want a war in Gaza now?” he asked.

Overnight Monday, hours after the bodies were discovered, Israeli aircraft hit more than 30 targets in Gaza, and Israeli officials warned heavy air strikes would continue as long as militant rocket fire into Israel persisted.

The rate of rocket attacks from Gaza has significantly increased since the kidnapping weeks ago, coinciding with Israel’s crackdown against Hamas in the West Bank.

Hamas's spokesman in Gaza, Sami Abu Zuhri, warned Israel against any widescale offensive in Gaza.

“Netanyahu should know that threats don’t scare Hamas, and if he wages a war on Gaza, the gates of hell will open on him.”

Bomb shelters

Israeli security sources believe Gaza militants now possess hundreds of rockets capable of reaching greater Tel Aviv, and a conflagration in Gaza would almost certainly necessitate millions of Israelis in the centre of the country being forced into bomb shelters.

Mr Netanyahu used the abduction to demand that Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas annul a reconciliation deal he reached with Hamas, his long-time rival, in April that led to last month's formation of a Palestinian unity government.

Mr Abbas denounced the kidnapping and hinted that it may impact on the reconciliation deal.

Israel is worried that a tough response against Hamas or collective punishment against Palestinian civilians during the holy month of Ramadan may backfire, boosting support for Hamas and undermining the Israeli campaign against the Palestinian unity government.