Israel's cabinet ministers are divided on how to respond to the killing of the three kidnapped Jewish teens, whose bodies were found on Monday.

Following the discovery of the bodies on Monday evening near Halhul, north of Hebron, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convened an emergency meeting of his security cabinet to discuss the available courses of action.

According to an Israeli official who asked to remain anonymous, hawkish Economy Minister Naftali Bennett (Jewish Home) demanded Israel to embark on a major operation in the Gaza Strip, whereas Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon opposed such a move.

Bennett proposed eight plans of action, including a military operation in Gaza, and warned that "a weak response" would legitimize such actions against Israelis in the future.

Netanyahu and Ya'alon preferred a measured response of continuing with operation codenamed "brother's keeper" in the West Bank to hunt down the kidnappers and air raids in the Gaza Strip in response to missile volleys.

"Do we really want a war in Gaza now?" Ya'alon asked, according to Times of Israel website reported, saying that expanding the operation against Hamas might spark an escalation that would be difficult to control.

Dovish Justice Minister Tzipi Livni opposed taking drastic steps against Hamas as well, saying that Israel cannot go to war for every act of terrorism.

Whereas Ya'alon objected to expanding the operation in Gaza, he did suggest expanding construction in the settlement blocs in response to the killing, the Ynet news website reported. Livni objected to the proposal, saying it would decrease Israel's legitimacy among the international community.

Monday night's cabinet meeting ended without results and is set to continue on Tuesday evening.

The three Israeli teenagers went missing on June 12. They were last seen hitchhiking in the West Bank near the Gush Ezion settlement area. It took the Israelis 18 days to find them at a spot that is not far from where they were believed to be kidnapped.

According to assessments, the three yeshiva (orthodox seminary) students were killed shortly after they were kidnapped. Netanyahu plans to address the teens' funeral later in the day.

Thousands of Israeli security forces participated in a massive manhunt over the past two weeks in the West Bank, searching for evidence of the missing teens' whereabouts and trying to capture their kidnappers in more than 2,200 locations, according to Israeli military sources.

According to the Shin Bet Security Agency, the two main suspects, Marwan Kawasmeh and Amar Abu-Isa disappeared since the apparent kidnap.



More than 420 Palestinian suspects were arrested and Hamas- related institutions in east Jerusalem and the West Bank were shut down in Israel's attempt to strike a blow to the organization's infrastructure.