Israel’s far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said Saturday that his comments earlier this week to “wipe out” the Palestinian town of Huwwara was a “slip of the tongue,” Israeli media reported.

The Times of Israel newspaper quoted Smotrich as saying that his “word choice was wrong, but the intention was very clear.”

“It was a slip of the tongue in a storm of emotions,” Smotrich reportedly said.

Advocacy Groups Urge US to Ban Smotrich over Racist Call to ‘Wipe out’ Huwwara

The US slammed Smotrich’s remarks on Wednesday, saying they were “irresponsible”, “repugnant” and “disgusting.”

US State Department spokesman Ned Price urged Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and other senior Israeli officials to “publicly and clearly reject and disavow these comments.”​​​​​​​

Smotrich said Huwwara should be “wiped out” by the Israeli government after recent violence in occupied West Bank villages following the killing of two Jewish settlers.

(PC, MEMO)