Deputy Prime Minister and Industry, Trade and Labor Minister Eli Yishai said before the opening of Sunday’s cabinet meeting that Saddam Hussein’s execution was “expected,” adding that “I praise the American struggle in Iraq.
“Our ally is attempting to achieve order in the world,” Yishai said.
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert chosenot to address the execution, but Vice Premier Shimon Peres said, “After Hitler, the end of Saddam Hussein was also expected, as he was a threat to the Middle East and the entire world.
“He was a dictator who was responsible for three wars, the assassination of hundreds of thousands and for the death of millions more,” Peres said.
“There was a historic obligation to end this tyranny; he brought it upon himself.”
Absorption Minister Ze’ev Boim said, “Saddam was looking to develop weapons of mass destruction against Israel, encourage suicide terror attacks and incite the Palestinians against us.
“He was a central link in the axis against Israel and the term ‘Every dog has his day’ is apt in this case.
Defense and Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Tzachi Hanegbi said during a meeting of Kadima ministers Sunday, “Saddam’s death is a message to tyrants around the world – a message that resonated all the way to Tehran.”