Heritage Minister Rabbi Amichai Eliyahu called on Israeli security forces to gun down all terrorists encountered at the scene of terror attacks, doubling down amid a debate following the friendly-fire killing of an Israeli civilian in Jerusalem last week.
Asked by Ynet whether he would like to change his public call to do so following the killing of Yuval Doron Castleman, whose shooter was arrested overnight on Monday, Eliyahu responded: "We must get to a point of dead checking, we must get to terrorists being killed and deterred."
On claims that his calls violate the IDF's open-fire rules, Eliyahu said that "we are a state of law. At the end of the day, only God will hold terrorists accountable."
השר עמיחי אליהו ל-ynet Live: "קורא לבצע וידוא הריגה במחבלים, שלא ישתחררו בעסקאות"https://t.co/i6HpfIQK6u pic.twitter.com/k72NQnbHep
— ynet עדכוני (@ynetalerts) December 4, 2023
Earlier during Operation Swords of Iron against Hamas in Gaza, Eliyahu claimed that "it is an option" for Israeli forces to drop an atomic bomb on the Gaza Strip.
Ben-Gvir defends weapons policy after killing of Israeli civilian
National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir defended his policy of distributing more firearms to civilians on Monday morning after backlash received following the friendly-fire killing last week.
"The minister's policy...is clear and continuous," a message from Ben-Gvir's office stated after it was reported that the head of Israel Police's weapons department Israel Avishar resigned from his role after last week's incident.
"Those who refuse to carry out the policy and are threatened by attacks from the Left...cannot remain the head of the weapons department while Israel is at war," Ben-Gvir claimed.