Kerala Congress MP says Israel’s Netanyahu should be shot dead ‘without trial’; BJP reacts

Congress MP Rajmohan Unnithan has stirred a political row after he suggested that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “should be shot and killed without a trial” for allegedly committing a “war crime” against Palestinians in the besieged Gaza Strip, news agency ANI reported.

Addressing a rally to demonstrate solidarity with Palestine in Kasargod, Kerala, amid the ongoing ground offensive by Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip, the Congress leader reportedly advocated the “Nuremberg model” (invoking the trial of Nazis in Nuremberg for the holocaust) against Netanyahu.

“You can ask what should be done to those who break all agreements under the Geneva Convention. After the Second World War, there was something called the Nuremberg trials for bringing those (Nazis) guilty of war crimes to justice. The Nuremberg model to shoot those accused of war crimes dead without trial. It is high time that the Nuremberg model was applied here (against the Israeli PM). Today, Benjamin Netanyahu is standing before the world as a war criminal. It’s high time that Netanyahu was shot and killed without a trial because of the atrocities that his forces are committing on Palestinians,” Unnithan, who represents Kasargod in the Lok Sabha, was quoted as saying.

The rally was organised by the Kasaragod United Muslim Jamaath on Friday.

Reacting to the politician-turned-actor’s comments, Union minister V Muraleedharan said such statements by the member of Parliament show the country in a poor light. “I don’t know what is the stand of the Congres Party on such statements by their MP. Member of Parliament is a very responsible position which is taken note of by the international community. When an MP makes such a statement it’s a shame to the Indian Parliament and parliamentary democracy…,” Muraleedharan said.

Slamming Unnithan for the statement, Kerala BJP president K Surendran posted on social media X, “Where is the @INCIndia heading to? Senior Congress leader and Kasargod MP Rajmohan Unnithan called for the murder of Israel PM Benjamin Netanyahu without any trial at a pro-Hamas rally organized in Kasargod. Mr Unnithan even said that ‘now, I am ashamed to have been born in India.’ Only Congress leaders can stoop so low. For him and his leader @RahulGandhi Hamas is a peaceful resistance movement.”

The former chief of the terror group Hamas, Khaled Mashal, virtually addressed a similar solidarity event in Kerala earlier.

Earlier, on Friday, senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh released an official party statement, condemning the Israeli operations in Gaza and demanding that the Centre intervene to bring a ceasefire at the earliest.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday condemned the mounting civilian deaths in the ongoing Israel-Hamas war and said new challenges are emerging from the events in West Asia.

Reiterating India’s condemnation of the Hamas terror attacks in southern Israel on October 7, Modi also highlighted that New Delhi has also sent humanitarian aid to the people of Palestine.

In his opening address at the Voice of Global South Summit earlier on Friday, said, “For global prosperity, sabka saath and sabka vikas is parmount. We all are seeing that new challenges are emerging from the events in the West Asia region.”

“India has condemned the terrorist attack in Israel on October 7. We have laid emphasis on exercising restraint, dialogue and diplomacy,” he added.PM Modi said that India has also sent humanitarian aid to the people of Palestine.

“We also strongly condemn the deaths of civilians in the conflict between Israel and Hamas. After talking to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, we have also sent humanitarian aid to the people of Palestine,” he added.