Israeli Official Claims ‘What Hamas Is Committing Is Worse Than What the Nazis Did’
Nir Barkat, the Minister of Economy and Industry in Israel, told a BBC News presenter that the attacks on Jews committed by Hamas are “worse than what the Nazis did,” which was kill six million Jews.
Passions are running high in war-torn Israel and Gaza, as they always have, and they have understandably reached a boiling point after the Hamas terrorist attacks on Oct. 7, which resulted in the deaths of 1,200 civilians in Israel. An addition 240 civilians were taken hostage, and Friday finally saw the release of some of those hostages following a deal for a prisoner exchange and a temporary ceasefire.
What Barkat wants, as he told BBC News’ Lucy Hockings, is “total surrender,” like the Nazis’ unconditional surrender that marked the end of World War II in 1945. But the presenter pointed out that these are two very different situations:
Barkat: We will continue until total surrender. You know the phrase “total surrender,” like Nazi Germany at the time, like Imperial Japan at the time, we need to have total surrender after we exchange.
Hockings: Ok. Mr. Barkat, can I ask you more about that, that phrase that you’re using? Because you say it’s one that we understand, “total surrender.” Do you mean just total surrender of the Hamas militants? Because Gaza is a place that is run by Hamas. We’re talking about civil society in Gaza as well. Who exactly is it that you want to surrender?
Barkat: Just to remind you, I don’t remember Britain or the United States at the tail end of the Second World War bombing Dresden–
Hockings: We’re not talking about the second World War though. I’m asking you about what is happening right now, not what happened decades ago.
Barkat: What Hamas is committing is worse than what the Nazis did.
What Hamas did on Oct. 7 is, without a doubt, one of the worst atrocities committed against Jews since the Holocaust. And the scale, surprise, and viciousness of the attack warranted a response from Israel. But to say it is worse than the wholesale slaughter of six million Jews is a stretch to say the least.
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In another part of the interview that was posted on Instagram, Barkat told Hockings after she pointed out that death toll, “It’s not a number game,” adding:
Any civilian in Gaza that gives shelter to Hamas is in danger. We opened a corridor for them to leave the northern part of Gaza so that they don’t get hurt. You know what they did? They went into our civilian cities and towns and raped and killed and slaughtered and beheaded people. It’s not the same. You cannot compare.
It’s like the West fighting Nazi Germany. This is the equivalent, moral equivalent. You cannot put the numbers one next to the other. When the U.S. dropped the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, okay, they wanted to end the war. We don’t do that. Okay? We’re considerate of the Palestinian people.
Hockings pushed back hard on that:
There are many people who would disagree with that statement, that you are “considerate” of Palestinian people. I have to say, I’m sorry. You’ve got lawyers around the world wanting to put Israel in front of the Hague for war crimes that have been committed in Gaza. The UN says it is a graveyard for children in Gaza at the moment. There are many who would dispute the fact that Israel has been considerate.
Watch the video above via BBC News.
