No stranger to the burning issues of the day, Israel?s Benjamin Netanyahu was really fired up during a radio interview yesterday.

?Can?t you smell the smoke?? an Army Radio reporter suddenly asked Netanyahu, the finance minister, as they spoke about a recent controversial decision to replace Israel?s army chief.

?What do you mean?? Netanyahu, well known in Israel for his penchant for cigars, shot back.

?Your cigar is on fire. The one inside your suit jacket. Minister Netanyahu, you are burning up,? the reporter replied, his voice rising in urgency in the interview conducted outside the cabinet room before its weekly meeting.

?Eh?? said a flustered Netanyahu, a former prime minister with a reputation as a master of the soundbite. At this point, Housing Minister Isaac Herzog, also on his way to the cabinet meeting, came to the rescue.

?Bibi, throw it on the floor. Throw it ? that?s right,? Herzog said, using the former prime minister?s nickname. Emergency over, the reporter asked Netanyahu why he had put a lit cigar in his jacket pocket.

?Smoking is forbidden here,? Netanyahu said.

?But why a lit cigar?? the reporter insisted.

?I didn?t know it was lit,? Netanyahu replied.