DUBAI: Former Israeli Justice Minister Yossi Beilin walked out of a televised interview after being challenged by the presenter to respond to reports on the Israel-Hamas war.
During an interview with Russia Today presenter Afshin Rattansi, Beilin was asked about the mass slaughter of Palestinians in Gaza and the parallels between the Palestinian resistance and Nelson Mandela’s African National Congress resistance.
A heated exchange took place when the presenter challenged the ex-Israeli minister to respond to unverified accounts regarding the rape of Israeli women hostages captured by Hamas.
Beilin said: “I don’t want even to argue about it. If people don’t believe these poor women were hit and raped and whatever, I’m not in the situation to prove them that they are wrong.”
Rattansi said the claims had never been proven.
The host later asked Beilin about dubious evidence surrounding the events of Oct. 7, as well as evidence of Israeli friendly fire on the same day, published in a report by Israeli newspaper Haaretz.
He sarcastically responded, saying: “Maybe it is true, and all the 1,200 people who were killed on Oct. 7 were killed by Israelis … Are you crazy? … We killed ourselves and raped ourselves.”
The presenter replied that it was not a matter of believing whether this truly happened, but rather a matter of presenting evidence to verify or dispute such claims.
As Beilin became furious with the direction of the interview, the presenter moved on to the topic of Israel’s support for Daesh fighters in Syria.
Beilin, however, refused to comment on the matter before abruptly ending the interview.
