Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko accused Israel of carrying out a “Holocaust” in Gaza during an interview with Al-Arabiya English, saying Israel had killed “so many people,” including women and children.
“They already have a bad reputation in the world because of the bombing of Gaza,” Lukashenko said. “It is a Holocaust. Why do we speak about the Holocaust suffered by the Israelis? While they themselves have killed so many people, women and above all children have died in the Gaza Strip.”
He said Gaza had been “wiped off the face of the earth” and criticized what he described as plans to build a resort on land where people were killed. “Israel has to start thinking about its future because otherwise even nuclear weapons will not help them,” he said.
Lukashenko, who has ruled Belarus since 1994, has long been accused by Western governments and human rights groups of crushing dissent, jailing political opponents and suppressing independent media. His disputed 2020 election victory triggered mass protests that were met with sweeping arrests and a violent crackdown.
He also argued that the United States has the power to force Israel to stop military action, saying Israel is “fully dependent” on Washington. He described the Iran crisis as “a war between Israel and Iran” into which the U.S. had become involved.
“There is no military solution,” he said of the conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East. “There are many challenges that need to be addressed and they can only be resolved at the negotiating table.”