Nuclear ministers | The Press

The affair caused a stir in Israel and on social networks. On November 5, in an interview with an ultra-Orthodox radio station, the Minister of Heritage of the Jewish State, Amichai Eliyahu, affirmed that sending a nuclear bomb to the Gaza Strip is “an option”.

He didn’t stop there. Affirming that there are no “non-combatant” civilians in Gaza, he outlined his opposition to sending any humanitarian aid to the two million Palestinians in the enclave, under Israeli blockade for 16 years, but particularly put to the test since the Hamas terrorist attacks on October 7. “We would not give humanitarian aid to the Nazis!” », he exclaimed.

Amichai Eliyahu also suggested that Gazans “go to Ireland or the desert,” referring to Sinai. “The monsters of Gaza must find a solution for themselves,” he concluded.

His assertions provoked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who said that Minister Eliyahu’s comments were “disconnected from reality”. Defense Minister Yoav Gallant called them “baseless comments,” while War Cabinet minister Benny Gantz called them “thoughtless, unnecessary and irresponsible.”

Even the country’s conservative newspapers, including Jerusalem Postdemanded the resignation of Amichai Éliyahou.

However, more than a week later, the controversial politician is still in office. Just like all the other Israeli ministers from ultranationalist and far-right currents thanks to whom Benjamin Netanyahu was able to regain power last December. And this, regardless of the incendiary content of their speeches.

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Head of the party from which Minister Éliyahou comes, Itamar Ben-Gvir rejected out of hand reports according to which acts of violence committed by Jewish settlers against Palestinians in the West Bank have exploded since October 7, forcing 600 Palestinians to flee their home. “Why so much attention to graffiti that young Israelis have done on Palestinian property? “, exclaimed the leader of Otzma Yehudit (“Jewish power”).

This far-right political party advocates in particular the annexation of the West Bank and Israeli control of the Jordan River as far as the Mediterranean Sea, which is reminiscent – ​​in reverse – of the slogan used in certain pro-Palestinian demonstrations ( “From the river to the sea”) and decried by many as calling for the destruction of Israel.

Himself a settler who had long displayed in his house the portrait of an Israeli-American terrorist who killed 29 Palestinians in Hebron in 1994, Itamar Ben-Gvir was found guilty of seven counts, including those of supporting the terrorism and incitement to racism. He is now Minister of National Security.

In his role, he is responsible for the police forces in Israel, but also in the occupied territories. These days, while Israel is requesting 24,000 new assault weapons from the United States, the minister is distributing rifles among the civilian population, creating “security squads.” In Israel, but also in illegal settlements.

In a speech last week, reported by a religious Zionist newspaper, Itamar Ben-Gvir asked prison guards to have “zero tolerance” toward Hamas prisoners. “Treat them with as much force as you can treat these human animals,” he said, reusing the dehumanizing terms used by the defense minister as he announced the complete siege of Gaza on the 8th. october.

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich is also turning heads for the wrong reasons. “I am a fascist homophobe, but I am a man of my word,” he said in a recorded conversation, made public by the Kan television channel last January.

Head of the Religious Zionist Party, with seven deputies in the Knesset, this son of a rabbi also comes from Jewish colonies and is opposed to the creation of a Palestinian state. Within the ruling coalition, he is also the minister who oversees the administration of the occupied territories.

Last March, American Jewish groups opposed his visit to the United States, noting that he had publicly called for the complete destruction of the Palestinian village of Houwara – a war crime – where Jewish settlers had burned dozens of Palestinian houses.

Before coming to power, he asserted that Palestinians had three choices: live under Israeli rule, leave, or die as martyrs.

Member of the same party, Orit Strook, the Minister of Colonies and National Missions, demanded – well before the current war – the reoccupation and recolonization of the Gaza Strip by Israel.

The son of this settlement leader from Hebron, in the West Bank, was sentenced to 2 and a half years in prison for kidnapping and mistreating a Palestinian boy.

If the ministers’ comments add fuel to Palestinian anger, their role is limited these days, notes sociologist Shlomo Fischer, a researcher at Israel’s Jewish People Policy Institute. “They have great political power in Israel, despite the fact that they represent about 10% of the electorate, but they are not the stars of the war against Hamas,” he says.

Professor of history emeritus at the University of Montreal, Yakob Rabkin, sees in the growing presence of extremists within the Israeli government the incarnation of a deep trend. “Israeli society is a society that has been moving to the right for decades,” notes the historian.

Although he recognizes that the points of view defended by these politicians are shocking, the historian believes that they must be put into context. “It’s not just about people, it’s structural. The State of Israel is built on exclusive ethnic nationalism in a territory where indigenous people live. This leads to serious problems. And it has been there since the creation of Israel. The difference with far-right politicians is that they say out loud what they want to do, rather than hiding it like many previous Israeli governments,” he believes.

One thing is certain, it is difficult to imagine how peace talks and discussions on the establishment of two neighboring states could resume if these ministers continue to have a seat at the table.

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