Brussels - Moscow - Washington: Europe and the Arabs - Agencies
The official spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, said that the statements of an Israeli minister regarding nuclear weapons raise many questions, including “Does Israel have these weapons?”
Zakharova added - in a statement reported by the Novosti news agency on Tuesday - “These statements have raised a large number of questions. The first relates to whether these statements mean that we are listening to official statements about the presence of nuclear weapons in Israel?”
She continued, "The next questions are: Where are the international organizations, where are the International Atomic Energy Agency, and where are the inspectors?"
The Israeli Minister of Heritage said in recent statements that Israel could drop a nuclear bomb on the Gaza Strip.
Yesterday, Monday, the United States condemned the statements of Israeli Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu, who proposed the option of striking the Gaza Strip with a nuclear weapon.
Deputy Foreign Ministry spokesman Vedant Patel described the Israeli minister's statements as "completely unacceptable."
“We continue to believe that it is important for all parties to this conflict to refrain from hateful rhetoric,” the Foreign Ministry’s deputy spokesman said in a press conference.
The ministry pointed out that Israel has the right to defend itself and it is important to differentiate between Hamas and civilians.
The US State Department confirmed that Washington does not question the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and the huge loss of civilian lives.
She continued, saying, "We are discussing with Israel and Egypt the issue of bringing fuel into Gaza in a way that helps civilians and not Hamas," adding that "there is no reason for us to believe that there was a diversion of humanitarian aid to the benefit of Hamas."
Israeli Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu described dropping a nuclear bomb on the Gaza Strip as one of the options to achieve the goal of eliminating Hamas.
The Israeli Minister of Heritage's statement was widely condemned, as the Palestinian Foreign Ministry and Hamas condemned it, which considered it "reflecting the unprecedented terrorism practiced by this government and its symbols against our Palestinian people, and posing a danger to the entire region and the world."
This came as Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, stressed that while we deal with the urgency of today, we must also think about tomorrow. The European official addressed the current conflict between Israelis and Palestinians and said, “Imagine what lasting peace might look like. To restore hope to Israelis and Palestinians. And for this reason.” “They need a perspective, which is a two-state solution. And in the end, they have to agree on a way forward.” This came in the European official’s speech before the conference of European Union ambassadors around the world, which is currently being hosted by Brussels, and whose activities began yesterday, Monday, and will continue until Friday.