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Amihai Ben-Eliyahu (; born 24 April 1979), commonly known as Amihai Eliyahu (), is an Israeli far-right politician and activist who has served as Minister of Heritage since 2025. Eliyahu currently serves as a member of the Knesset for Otzma Yehudit, an office he briefly served in following the 2022 Israeli legislative election.
In 2023, Eliyahu received international attention for his suggestion that be used in the Gaza Strip in the Gaza war. He is a resident of the West Bank settlement of Rimonim.
In January 2025, Eliyahu resigned from his ministerial position in response to the 2025 Gaza war ceasefire, and rejoined the Knesset in accordance with the Norwegian Law. He rejoined the cabinet in March.
He became Minister for Jerusalem Affairs and Heritage on 29 December 2022, and resigned from the Knesset on 1 January 2023 as part of the Norwegian Law.
On 17 January 2025, Otzma Yehudit held a press conference in which they announced their intention to withdraw from the coalition if the government accepted the three-phase ceasefire proposal. The proposal was accepted, and Eliyahu subsequently resigned alongside the rest of the party's ministers when the ceasefire went into effect on 19 January 2025. His term ended on 21 January. Otzma Yehudit has stated its intention to rejoin the governing coalition if the deal does not result in a permanent ceasefire.
The cabinet approved Eliyahu's reappointment on 18 March and it was approved by the Knesset the following day.
Eliyahu has criticized both police and the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) over alleged preferential treatment towards Palestinians in the West Bank over settlers. In August 2023, he claimed that "the IDF, police and security services in the last three decades" had adopted "the world view of the Palestinian population, that automatically views the Israeli settlers as guilty".
Eliyahu has also called for the execution of Palestinian prisoners. In December 2023, he said that Israel "should fully occupy the Gaza Strip" after the war and build Israeli settlements there.
Eliyahu in July 2024 urged his supporters to protest at Sde Teiman detention camp against the Israeli military police's detention of nine Israeli soldiers suspected of abuse of a Palestinian prisoner; Eliyahu then joined other right-wingers in illegally invading the Sde Teiman detention camp.
After Hamas released the dead bodies of the Bibas Family, four Israelis taken as hostages; Eliyahu compared Hamas to Amalek, the biblical enemy of the Jews. Quoting the bible, Eliyahu wrote that Israel should “blot out the memory of Amalek from under the heavens.”
In July 2025, amidst a famine caused by the Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip, Eliyahu said that "there is no nation that feeds its enemies. The government is racing ahead for Gaza to be wiped out."
In response, Eliyahu defended his statements, saying that "any sensible person" knew that the comments were "metaphorical", but maintained his support for a "powerful and disproportionate response to terrorism". Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu disavowed his comments and announced his suspension from cabinet meetings. However, Eliyahu took part in a cabinet telephone vote later that day. National security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir is reported to have intervened on behalf of Eliyahu.
Eliyahu's remarks were included in the genocide case submitted by South Africa to the International Court of Justice as an expression of genocidal intent against the Palestinian people.
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