An Israeli government minister was suspended Sunday for suggesting that dropping a nuclear bomb on the Gaza Strip was “one of the possibilities” in the Jewish state’s war against Hamas.
Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu was relieved of his duties and barred from a cabinet meeting by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after making the outrageous claim during an interview on Radio Kol Berama, the Times of Israel reported.
“Amichai Eliyahu’s words are detached from reality,” Netanyahu said in a statement posted on X.
“Israel and the IDF acted in accordance with the highest standards of international law to prevent harm to non-involved people, and will continue to do so until victory is achieved,” the prime minister wrote.
Netanyahu made sure that Eliyahu was not part of Israel’s emergency war cabinet created by the PM after Hamas terrorists launched a sneak attack on Israel on Oct. 7.
The attack killed more than 1,400 Israelis near the Gaza border, almost all of them civilians, while more than 200 people were taken hostage, leading to widening Israeli counterattacks.
Israel’s Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu was suspended by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday for suggesting that nuclear weapons were “one of the possibilities” in their country’s conflict with Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Yonatan Zindel/Flash90 Netanyahu called the poll’s proposal “detached from reality.” AP
Eliyahu, a member of the right-wing Otzma Yhudit, or Jewish Power party led by National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, made the alarming statement earlier Sunday.
When asked if nuclear weapons were an option in Gaza, he replied, “It’s one of the possibilities.”
Recalling the Israeli hostages still being held in Gaza, Eliyahu replied, “I pray and hope that they return, but there is a price to be paid in war.
“Why is the life of the kidnap victim, whose release I want, more important than the life of the soldier and the person who will be killed later?” he added.
Regarding the fate of Palestinian civilians in Gaza, “They can go to Ireland or the desert,” said the pol.
“The monsters in Gaza must find their own solutions.”
Palestinian Siham Rabaya stands in the ruins of his house that was destroyed after the Israeli airstrike in Rafah.ZUMAPRESS.com
He added on the global call for aid for Palestinian civilians, “We will not give Nazis humanitarian aid.
“There is no such thing as innocence in Gaza.”
After his suspension and the backlash over his comments, Eliyahu tried to backpedal, claiming to reporters that “any reasonable person would understand that [nuclear weapons] comments are metaphors.
“But we certainly need to respond strongly and disproportionately to terrorism,” he added.
Some government officials said Netanyahu did not go far enough by simply hanging Eliyahu.
Israel has launched a counterattack against Hamas in the Gaza Strip after the terrorists launched a sneak attack on the Jewish state on October 7 that killed more than 1,400 Israelis, almost all of them civilians. NEIL HALL/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
“Netanyahu must fire him this morning,” said Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid, Sky News reported.
Israeli abor leader Merav Michaeli called the heritage minister “a danger to the State of Israel,” according to the Jerusalem Post.
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