Israeli Minister: Time to Assassinate Assad

Wants to Kill Assad Then Focus on Iran

Israeli Housing Minister Yoav Galant, of the Kulanu Party, today declared that yesterday’s US claims that Syria’s government has built a crematorium to dispose of executed prisoners, a fact Syria denies, means “the time has come to assassinate Assad.” He went on to liken Assad’s Syria to Nazi Germany.

It’s unusual for an MP to publicly demand the assassination of a neighboring head of state, and it’s clearly outside the purview of the Israeli Housing Ministry to make such a decision. Galant’s status as a former general appears to be his basis for making the proclamation.

Galant declared Assad to be “the tail of the snake,” and insisted that Israel could assassinate him and then focus on starting a war with Iran, whom he identified as the “head of the snake.” Picking a fight with Iran of course is a long-standing Israeli priority.

Galant conceded that it might not be practical to assassinate Assad, and that it would be illegal under international law, but insisted Assad “doesn’t have a place in this world” and needs to be killed outright. Again, Galant presented this conclusion primarily on the basis of yesterday’s US State Department claim about a crematorium, which has not been independently confirmed, and which Syria denies.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.