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<a class="gmail-domain gmail-reader-domain" href="https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/gop-lawmaker-says-gaza-needs-same-end-as-wwii-japan--with-nu">english.almayadeen.net</a>
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<h1 class="gmail-reader-title">GOP lawmaker says Gaza needs same end as WWII Japan, with nukes</h1>
<div class="gmail-credits gmail-reader-credits">Al Mayadeen English</div>
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<div class="gmail-reader-estimated-time">May 23, 2025</div>
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<a href="https://alpha-en-media.almayadeen.net/media/image/2025/5/23/58c59d08-5ef1-4878-9cc0-4d53e5219d87.png?width=1000" tabindex="0"><img src="https://alpha-en-media.almayadeen.net/media/image/2025/5/23/58c59d08-5ef1-4878-9cc0-4d53e5219d87.png?width=1000&preset=w750" alt="Rep. Randy Fine, R-Palm Bay, answers a question about his House Bill 3-C: Independent Special Districts in the House of Representatives April 20, 2022, at the Capitol in Tallahassee, Florida (AP/Phil Sears)" class="gmail-moz-reader-block-img"></a>
Rep. Randy Fine, R-Palm Bay, answers a question about his
House Bill 3-C: Independent Special Districts in the House of
Representatives, April 20, 2022, at the Capitol in Tallahassee, Florida (<em>AP</em>)
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<p>In a statement drawing widespread condemnation, freshman Republican Congressman Randy Fine called for the United States or <a href="https://english.almayadeen.net/articles/analysis/is--israel--using-small-nuclear-weapons-in-gaza-and-south-le">\u201cIsrael\u201d to \u201cnuke\u201d Gaza</a>,
likening the besieged Palestinian enclave to Imperial Japan during
World War II and invoking the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki as a
model for ending the war on Gaza.</p>
<p>Appearing on <em>Fox News</em> following the fatal shooting of two
Israeli embassy staffers near the Capitol Jewish Museum in Washington,
Fine said, \u201cThe only end of the conflict [in Gaza] is complete and total
surrender by those who support Muslim terror.\u201d</p>
<p>\u201cThe fact of the matter is the Palestinian cause is an evil one,\u201d
said Fine. \u201cIn World War Two, we did not negotiate a surrender with the
Nazis. We did not negotiate a surrender with the Japanese. We nuked the
Japanese twice in order to get unconditional surrender. That needs to be
the same here.\u201d</p>
<p>The remarks triggered immediate backlash from rights advocates and
political observers, who said Fine\u2019s comments represent a dangerous
escalation of genocidal rhetoric within US political discourse on
Palestine. By suggesting Gaza should be subjected to atomic warfare,
critics argue, Fine is promoting war crimes and <a href="https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/ongoing-sexual-abuse-of-gaza-detainees-sparks-rights-groups">openly dehumanizing Palestinians</a>.</p>
<p></p>
<h2>Remarks follow embassy shooting amid heightened tensions</h2>
<p>The congressman\u2019s remarks came hours after two staffers from the Israeli embassy were killed in a <a href="https://next-en.almayadeen.net/videos/what-we-know-so-far-about-elias-rodriguez">shooting outside a Washington venue</a>
hosting an event by the American Jewish Committee. While the incident
remains under investigation, Fine cited the attack as justification for
calling the Palestinian cause \u201cevil\u201d and demanding unconditional
surrender.</p>
<p>Though details of the assailant\u2019s identity and motives remain
unclear, Fine\u2019s remarks immediately tied the shooting to Palestinians
and leveraged it to reinforce his calls for escalated military action.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, in "Israel", Gaza is experiencing a rapidly deteriorating
situation. From relentless daily massacres to an escalating famine,
Palestinians are enduring worsening conditions each day, nearly two
years into the ongoing Israeli genocide.</p>
<p></p>
<h2>Human rights groups condemn genocidal rhetoric</h2>
<p>Legal analysts and human rights organizations have condemned Fine\u2019s
rhetoric, warning that invoking atomic bombings as a legitimate means to
resolve conflict sets a chilling precedent.</p>
<p>\u201cTo call for nuking a civilian population under siege is not just
morally reprehensible, it borders on incitement to genocide,\u201d said a
representative from the Human Rights Watch.</p>
<p>Pro-Palestine activists have pointed out that Gaza has been under
total blockade by the Israeli occupation for over 17 years, with the
latest war having killed more than 35,000 Palestinians, most of them
women and children. The suggestion that such a population should be
subject to nuclear annihilation, they say, reflects a normalization of
exterminationist rhetoric in mainstream US politics.</p>
<h2>Republican party silent amid rising calls for accountability</h2>
<p>At the time of publication, neither Speaker of the House Mike Johnson
nor the Republican National Committee had issued a statement in
response to Fine\u2019s remarks. Democratic lawmakers, however, have begun
calling for censure, and several progressive voices in Congress have
labeled the comments \u201copen incitement to war crimes.\u201d</p>
<p>While Fine has long positioned himself as an unapologetically
pro-"Israel" hardliner, this latest statement marks a stark departure
from prior GOP talking points, crossing into explicit advocacy for mass
killing as a legitimate tactic in modern warfare.</p>
<p>In 2024, the International Criminal Court <a href="https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/icc-issues-arrest-warrants-for-netanyahu--gallant-over--war">(ICC) issued arrest warrants for Israeli occupation Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu</a> and former Security Minister Yoav Gallant on charges of "crimes against humanity and war crimes."</p>
<h2>Trend in nuke threats</h2>
<p>Over the past 19 months, calls to use nuclear weapons against Gaza
have moved from fringe rhetoric to increasingly normalized statements by
high-profile officials in both "Israel" and the United States. </p>
<p>In November 2023, <a href="https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/-the-hague-knows-my-position---says-israeli-minister-on-nuki">Israeli \u201cHeritage\u201d Minister Amichai Eliyahu</a>
publicly stated that dropping nuclear bombs on Gaza should be
considered, claiming there were \u201cno uninvolved civilians\u201d in the Strip.
He later told participants in a West Bank tour that \u201ceven in The Hague
they know my position,\u201d referencing international awareness of his
genocidal stance. Though not a member of the Israeli war cabinet,
Eliyahu had repeatedly warned that a ceasefire or captive deal would
destroy the Israeli regime.</p>
<p>In May of 2024, Senator Lindsey Graham made similar remarks, saying
that the United States dropping atomic bombs on Japan saved hundreds of
thousands of American lives, adding that the use of nuclear weapons in
Gaza is not necessary, while 2000-pound bunker-buster bombs are.</p>
<p>His comments at the time, published on his X account, were addressed
to Iran, which condemned Graham's reprehensible statement, where he
suggested that the <a href="https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/graham-doubles-down-on-nuking-gaza--but-says-1-ton-bombs-suf">Israeli occupation entity should strike Gaza with a nuclear bomb</a> for it to win its "existential" war.</p>
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