Pakistan angered over Israeli minister’s Gaza ‘nuclear option’ comment

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Monday expressed anger over an Israeli minister’s remarks wherein he suggested dropping a nuclear bomb on Gaza amid conflict with Hamas, ARY News reported.

Amichay Eliyahu, an ultranationalist politician part of Netnayahu’s ruling coalition, told Israel’s Kol Barama radio that he was not entirely satisfied with the scale of Israel’s retaliation in the Palestinian territory.

The attacks by Palestinian group Hamas killed 1,400 people, Israeli officials say while Israel’s military campaign in Gaza since October 7 has killed 9,770 people, most of them women and children, the Gaza health ministry says.

When the interviewer asked whether the Israeli minister advocated dropping “some kind of atomic bomb” on the Gaza Strip “to kill everyone”, Eliyahu replied: “That’s one option”.

Responding to the comments, Netanyahu’s office said “[Heritage Minister] Amichai Eliyahu’s statements are not based in reality,” adding that that Israel was trying to spare “non-combatants” in Gaza.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu:

Minister Amihai Eliyahu’s statements are not based in reality. Israel and the IDF are operating in accordance with the highest standards of international law to avoid harming innocents. We will continue to do so until our victory.

— Prime Minister of Israel (@IsraeliPM) November 5, 2023

Netanyahu’s office issued a statement saying that the heritage minister, from a far-right party in the coalition government, was suspended from cabinet meetings “until further notice”.

Pakistan’s response 

Responding to the comment, FO spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch – in a statement on X – said: “We are appalled by statement of an Israeli minister threatening nuclear force against Palestinians”.

We are appalled by statement of an Israeli minister threatening nuclear force against Palestinians. Reflects an intention for ethnic cleansing & genocide. This is a wake up call for int’l community to the threat posed by Israeli aggression to regional peace, security & stability.

— Spokesperson 🇵🇰 MoFA (@ForeignOfficePk) November 6, 2023

The FO spokesperson said the remarks reflected an “intention for ethnic cleansing and genocide”.

“This is a wake-up call for the international community to the threat posed by Israeli aggression to regional peace, security and stability,” she said.

Outrage

His remark drew swift condemnation from around the Arab world.

The League of Arab States said in a statement: “The racist statements of Israeli Minister Eliyahu are revealing. Not only does he admit that they possess a nuclear weapon, but he also confirms the reality of the Israelis’ abhorrent racist view towards the Palestinian people.”

A spokesperson for Hamas said Eliyahu represented “unprecedented criminal Israeli terrorism (that) constitutes a danger to the entire region and the world”.

Saudi Arabia criticised the Netanyahu government for not dismissing him.

“Failing to immediately dismiss the minister from the government and simply freezing his membership reflects the height of disdain for all human, moral, religious and legal standards and values of the Israeli government,” the Saudi foreign ministry said in a statement.