Israel’s Foreign Minister Israel Katz on Monday compared Hamas to the Nazis.
“Our just war in Gaza continues, with the exact same goals: the release of all hostages and the defeat of Hamas,” tweeted Katz on Israel’s Holocaust Remembrance Day. “Yesterday, we received a reminder from the Nazi terrorist organization Hamas, firing from a civilian population near the Rafah Crossing towards the Kerem Shalom Crossing, intended for humanitarian aid.”
Our just war in Gaza continues with the exact same goals: the release of all hostages and the defeat of Hamas.
— ישראל כ”ץ Israel Katz (@Israel_katz) May 6, 2024
Yesterday, we received a reminder from the Nazi terrorist organization Hamas, firing from a civilian population near the Rafah Crossing towards the Kerem Shalom…
Katz went on to state that Israel had agreed to “significant concessions” in hostage talks with Hamas, but that the terror group had “repeatedly refused.”
“Everyone understands that [Hamas leader in Gaza Yahya] Sinwar has no intention of releasing all hostages, even in exchange for everything. He believes that the world will pressure Israel to stop the war unconditionally, and he will be able to continue to control Gaza—with hostages as bargaining chips and with the ability to continue the war of attrition against Israel and plan the next attack.
“Today, on Holocaust Remembrance Day, the slogan ‘Never Again’ takes on a special meaning. The people of Israel say: ‘Never again.’”
Holocaust Martyrs’ and Heroes’ Remembrance Day began at sundown on Sunday, with the official state opening ceremony taking place at 8 p.m. in Warsaw Ghetto Square, Yad Vashem, on the Mount of Remembrance in Jerusalem.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu both spoke at the ceremony. Yad Vashem chairman Dani Dayan lit the memorial torch, and Haim Noy was selected to speak on behalf of the survivors, including Yitzhak Perlmutter, who was chosen to recite the “El Maleh Rahamim“prayer for the souls of the martyrs.
“This is not an ordinary year or an ordinary anniversary remembering the Holocaust. Israel is at war. Over 200 days have passed since the beginning of the Israel-Hamas war. We will not rest until our sons and daughters return home,” Herzog said in his speech.
“People ask me what will happen now during the war. I say that I believe in the eternity of the Jewish people. On this day we must commit ourselves to relying on pillars that had weakened before Oct. 7. These are the pillars of self-defense, unity, hope and faith,” he added.
Netanyahu noted that, “In contrast to the atrocities of the Holocaust, we now have an army that can fight back. And we have fought back. After Oct. 7, we stood together, filled with determination.”
“Eighty years after the murder of the Jews, evil people have murdered our people. The Nazis drove to kill the Jews until the very last ones. Hamas are the same,” said the premier. “They are proud of their murders and atrocities and stream them live. Our soldiers found a copy of Hitler’s Mein Kampf translated to Arabic [in Gaza].”
