JERUSALEM: An Israeli minister from the far-right Otzma Yehudit party on Sunday said that dropping an atomic bomb on the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip was “an option”, prompting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to suspend him from government meetings indefinitely. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia, with which Israel is said to be in talks for normalisation of ties under US mediation, condemned Eliyahu’s “extremist” suggestion.

In a radio interview, Jerusalem Affairs and Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu said “there are no non-combatants in Gaza” and providing humanitarian aid to the Strip would constitute “a failure”. When asked if there are no non-combatants in Gaza in his view then if a nuclear attack on the Gaza Strip is “an option”, Eliyahu responded, “That’s one way.” His remarks infuriated members of both the ruling coalition and the Opposition, evoking calls to fire him from the government.

Following the uproar, Eliyahu backtracked from his statement, calling it a “metaphorical” remark. Saudi Arabia’s foreign ministry said the minister’s comment “shows to what extent extremism and brutality have penetrated the Israeli government”, the Times of Israel newspaper reported. The fact that Eliyahu was only suspended and not immediately fired “reflects the Israeli government’s disregard for all values of humanity, morality, religion and law”, the report said.

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