Netanyahu defends Musk amid 'Nazi salute' row, calls him 'great friend'

Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defended billionaire and US Department of Government Efficiency head, Elon Musk amid the 'Nazi salute' controversy.

Calling Musk a "great friend of Israel," Netanyahu recalled how the Tesla CEO visited Israel after the October 7 attack and supported its right to defence and thanked him for it.

"Elon Musk is being falsely smeared. Elon is a great friend of Israel. He visited Israel after the October 7 massacre in which Hamas terrorists committed the worst atrocity against the Jewish people since the Holocaust. He has since repeatedly and forcefully supported Israel's right to defend itself against genocidal terrorists and regimes who seek to annihilate the one and only Jewish state. I thank him for this," Netanyahu stated in a post on X.

Musk stirred controversy after making hand gestures, apparently resembling the Nazi salute, during a speech celebrating the presidential inauguration of Donald Trump on January 20.

Addressing Trump supporters hours after the Republican was inaugurated as the 47th US president on Monday, Musk hailed the outcome of the November 4 election as "no ordinary victory".

Amid intensifying controversy, Elon Musk hit back at criticism, labelling his critics as "radical leftists" and saying they need "better dirty tricks".

"The radical leftists are really upset that they had to take time out of their busy day praising Hamas to call me a Nazi," Musk stated in a post on X.

"Frankly, they need better dirty tricks. The "everyone is Hitler" attack is sooo tired," he added in a separate post.