Israel slams destruction of Netanyahu wax figure in Mexico

Israel’s embassy in Mexico on Wednesday condemned the “odious” destruction of a wax statue of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu by a pro-Palestinian activist at a museum in Mexico City.

A video showing the activist destroying the statue at the city’s Wax Museum was uploaded onto a pro-Palestinian account on X on Tuesday, captioned: “This is for Gaza.”

It shows the man placing a Palestinian flag at the foot of the statue and then dousing the statue with red paint, whacking it with a hammer and toppling it to the ground.

“The attack carried out on the statue of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is an odious act which sends a dangerous message of violence, intolerance and hate that goes beyond all legitimate criticism,” the Israeli embassy said in a statement.

The embassy added that Israel was fighting “a just struggle (in Gaza) against a terrorist organization whose cruel actions cost the lives of numerous civilians, including Mexican citizens.”

It added that it hoped Mexican cultural institutions would take measures to prevent a repeat of such acts of vandalism.

Israel has been at war with Hamas in Gaza since October 7, 2023, when Hamas gunmen attacked Israel, leaving 1,208 people dead, mostly civilians, according to Israeli figures, while taking 251 hostages.

Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed 45,936 people in Gaza, the majority of them civilians, according to figures from the health ministry which the United Nations considers reliable.