ROME-On Monday evening the bodies of the three kidnapped boys, Eyal Yifrah, 19, Gilad Shaar, 16 and Naftali Fraenkel, 16, were found near the village of Halhul near Hebron in the west bank by Israeli army -debate over the punishment for the killers has already begun.

 The hunt continues for the two responsible for the kidnapping of the three teenagers, Marwan Kawasmeh and Amar Abu Ayash, who are both militia of the Islamist faction in Hebron and who disappeared immediately after the abduction.

 President of the United States Barack Obama has reacted quickly by defining the killing of the children as “a senseless act of terror” that must be condemned “in the strongest way possible”.

 Soon after the discovery of the corpses, the Security Cabinet was called to decide which measures to take so that the kidnappers are justly punished. So far, eight solutions have been brought into question.

 The solutions discussed include a large-scale operation against Hamas, the confiscation of the foundings for the Islamic faction in the west banks and the introduction of the death penalty for terrorists guilty of homicide.

 However, the minister of defence Moshe Yaalon has highlighted the dangers of these ideas. “What you propose will lead to an escalation of events that we do not know how to control,” Yaalon said. “Do you really want to go to war with Gaza now?”

 According to sources, Economy Minister Naftali Bennett replied, “We are going to war with Gaza sooner or later. It is better if we are the one to start it.”

 Mr Bennett claims that the proposals are too weak and that he would have voted against all of them. The meeting will therefore be resumed tonight, after the funerals of the three boys.