Netanyahu criticizes minister who suggested 'option' of dropping nuclear bomb on Gaza
Haaretz
Nov 5, 2023 10:02 am IST
Updated: Nov 5, 2023 11:34 am IST
Israel's Jerusalem Affairs and Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu said on Sunday that dropping a nuclear weapon on the Gaza Strip is "an option."
Speaking in a radio interview, the far-right minister maintained that "there are no non-combatants in Gaza," adding that providing humanitarian aid to the Strip would constitute "a failure."
Eliyahu was then asked if – since there are no non-combatants in his view – a nuclear attack on the Gaza Strip is an option. "That's one way," he responded.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded by saying that Eliyahu's comments are "divorced from reality" and that Israel and the IDF are acting in accordance with international law in order to avoid harm to non-combatants.
Later on Sunday morning, Netanyahu's office announced that Eliyahu had been suspended from government meetings until further notice.
Opposition leader Yair Lapid, for his part, called for the minister's removal. "The presence of radicals in the government endangers us and the goals of the war - defeating Hamas and returning all the hostages," Lapid wrote on X, adding that Netanyahu "must fire [Eliyahu] this morning."
National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, the leader of the Otzma Yehudit party that Eliyahu belongs to, said he spoke to the minister who in turn clarified that he was speaking "metaphorically."
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant also took to X, calling Eliyahu's statements "baseless," adding that it's "good that these aren't the people in charge of Israel's security."
Gallant's predecessor, Minister Benny Gantz, said Eliyahu's statement damages Israel and "adds pain to the families of the hostages."
MK Mansour Abbas, the leader of the United Arab List party, also reacted to Eliyahu, saying that "in the bottom of my heart, I believe that there will be peace between the two nations."
https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2023-11-05/ty-article/netanyahu-criticizes-minister-who-suggested-option-of-dropping-nuclear-bomb-on-gaza/0000018b-9e7b-db71-a7df-ffffe4510000