Israeli foreign minister says arms embargoes will lead to 'second Holocaust' and end of Israel

Israel’s foreign minister has said that an arms embargo on his country would lead to the elimination of the Israeli state and “a second Holocaust”. 

Gideon Saar was speaking on Tuesday at an international conference on antisemitism in Jerusalem. 

"If, God forbid, the calls and actions of countries and politicians for an arms embargo on Israel succeed, the result will be the destruction of Israel and a second Holocaust," he said. 

The comments came as Spain this week called on European countries to suspend arms shipments amid Israel’s ongoing siege on Gaza. 

At a meeting of the “Madrid Group”, Spain’s foreign minister called for an immediate suspension of Europe’s cooperation deal with Israel and an embargo on arms shipments. 

Read more: Israeli foreign minister says arms embargoes will lead to 'second Holocaust' and end of Israel