ISLAMABAD
\nThe Foreign Office (FO) said on Monday that Pakistan was \u201cappalled\u201d at the remarks made by an Israeli minister wherein he suggested dropping a nuclear bomb on Gaza.
\nIsraeli Heritage Minister Amichay Eliyahu, an ultranationalist politician part of Netnayahu\u2019s ruling coalition, had told Israel\u2019s Kol Barama radio that he was not entirely satisfied with the scale of Israel\u2019s retaliation in the Palestinian territory.
\nWhen the interviewer had asked whether the Israeli minister advocated dropping \u201csome kind of atomic bomb\u201d on the Gaza Strip \u201cto kill everyone\u201d, Eliyahu had replied: \u201cThat\u2019s one option\u201d.
\nOn Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu\u2019s office had said that Eliyahu was suspended from government meetings \u201cuntil further notice\u201d.
\nHis office had described Eliyahu\u2019s remarks as \u201cdisconnected from reality\u201d and added that Israel was trying to spare \u201cnon-combatants\u201d in Gaza.
\n\u201cEliyahu\u2019s statements are not based in reality. Israel and the IDF (military) are operating in accordance with the highest standards of international law to avoid harming innocents. We will continue to do so until our victory,\u201d Netanyahu\u2019s office had said.
\nDespite the immediate reprimand, the junior minister\u2019s inflammatory comments drew wide condemnation from within Israel and across the Middle East.
\nIsrael has never admitted to having a nuclear bomb.
\nIn a post on social media platform X today, FO spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said, \u201cWe are appalled by statement of an Israeli minister threatening nuclear force against Palestinians\u201d.
\nShe said the remarks reflected an \u201cintention for ethnic cleansing and genocide\u201d.
\n\u201cThis is a wake-up call for the international community to the threat posed by Israeli aggression to regional peace, security and stability,\u201d she said.
\nOutrage
\nArab League chief Ahmed Aboul Gheit had said Eliyahu\u2019s remarks revealed that \u201cIsrael possesses nuclear weapons, which is an open secret\u201d.
\n\u201cBut it confirms the truth of the racist view Israelis hold against Palestinians. This is the true face of the occupation government.\u201d
\nSaudi Arabia had criticised the Netanyahu government for not dismissing the minister.
\n\u201cFailing 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,\u201d the Saudi foreign ministry had said in a statement.
\nJordan said the minister\u2019s remarks were a \u201ccall for genocide and a hate crime\u201d against the Palestinians.
\nFollowing the outcry over his remarks, Eliyahu had said in a post on X that his statement about the atomic bomb was \u201cmetaphorical\u201d.
\nHe had also said that Israel was \u201ccommitted to doing everything possible to return the hostages safe and sound\u201d.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
ISLAMABAD The Foreign Office (FO) said on Monday that Pakistan was \u201cappalled\u201d at the remarks made by an Israeli minister wherein he suggested dropping a nuclear bomb on Gaza. Israeli Heritage Minister Amichay Eliyahu, an ultranationalist politician part of Netnayahu\u2019s ruling coalition, had told Israel\u2019s Kol Barama radio that he was not entirely satisfied with […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":351832,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-366458","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n