Israeli soldiers of an artillery unit fire a 155mm shell near the Gaza border, southern Israel , 02 November 2023. EFE-EPA/ABIR SULTAN

Israel admits it has nuclear weapons, says Arab League after minister’s threat

Cairo, Nov 5 (EFE).- The Arab League said on Sunday that Israel had admitted that it possessed atomic weapons after Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu, from a far-right party in the coalition government, threatened a potential nuclear attack on the Gaza Strip.

“The racist statements of Israeli Minister Eliyahu are revealing,” the League of Arab States said in a statement posted on the social media platform X, formerly Twitter.

“Not only does he admit that they possess nuclear weapons, which is a secret that everyone knows… but he also confirms the reality of the Israelis’ abhorrent racist view towards the Palestinian people.”

As reported by The Times of Israel, Eliyahu said launching an atomic bomb against the Gaza Strip could be one of the options in the war that has pitted Israel against the Islamist Hamas group since Oct. 7.

Eliyahu said in a social media post that he was only speaking metaphorically.

“A strong and disproportionate response to terrorism is definitely required, which will clarify to the Nazis and their supporters that terrorism is not worthwhile.”

Over 9,500 Palestinians have been killed in the relentless bombing by the Israeli military after Hamas militants attacked Israel and killed more than 1,400 people.

According to various sources, the Jewish state developed nuclear weapons secretly more than 50 years ago, but, until now, it neither admits nor denies its possession and is the only country in the world that does not openly recognize it.

However, it is an open secret that Israel is a nuclear state and appears as such in the lists of atomic research institutions.

The Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation has warned on several occasions about the “wide belief” that Israel has atomic weapons.

It has also not accepted the safeguards of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which aims to discourage the spread of nuclear weapons by early detection of “misuse” of nuclear material or technology. EFE

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