ISTANBUL: The Arab nations of Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Qatar, and Yemen on Sunday strongly condemned an Israeli Cabinet minister's statement in which he mentioned that dropping a nuclear bomb on Gaza is among Israel's 'options' going forward, reported Anadolu Agency.
"The failure to immediately dismiss the minister from the government and merely suspending his membership reflects the utmost disregard for all human, ethical, religious, and legal standards by the Israeli government," said the Saudi Foreign Ministry, according to the official Saudi Press Agency.
Jordan also condemned the statement, calling it a "call for genocide and a hate crime that cannot be ignored, as well as incitement to murder and the commission of war crimes, in addition to the crimes committed against the people of the Gaza Strip."
A spokesperson for Jordan's Foreign Ministry, Sufyan Al-Qudah, said "such statements represent a blatant and unacceptable violation of international law and humanitarian law and constitute a dangerous escalation that requires the international community to take immediate action against it."
He added that combating hate speech involves effective steps that would compel Israel, as the occupying power, to cease its ongoing attacks on the Palestinian people in Gaza and the occupied West Bank, along with its violations of international law and humanitarian law.
Meanwhile, Qatar's Foreign Ministry stated that the Israeli minister's threat to strike Gaza with a nuclear bomb constitutes a serious incitement to commit a war crime.
Qatar also decried Israel's leniency towards the official's threats by merely suspending him, not dismissing him.
Yemen also condemned the Israeli official's remarks on Sunday, saying they reflect "unprecedented levels of hatred and extremism," according to a Foreign Ministry statement.
Yemen called on the international community to put an end to racist and inflammatory rhetoric, as well as the daily crimes against the Palestinian people.
Earlier on Sunday, Israel's Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu said that "one of Israel's options in the war in Gaza is to drop a nuclear bomb on the strip," according to a local media report.
In a radio interview, Eliyahu also "voiced his objection to allowing any humanitarian aid into Gaza." – BERNAMA