By Selangor Journal Team
SHAH ALAM, July 31 — Menteri Besar Dato' Seri Amirudin Shari has condemned the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, calling it a 'brutal act' by the Zionist regime.
"The Selangor state government strongly condemns the murder of the late Ismail Haniyeh, a leader of Hamas.
"This brutal act by the Zionist regime is a continuation of their persistent violations of human rights and international law against Muslims in Palestine. Tens of thousands of lives have been lost in the Middle East conflict, especially women and children," he said in a Facebook post tonight.
Amirudin also extended his condolences to the Muslims of Palestine for this tragedy.
The Menteri Besar's remarks come after Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's own condemnation of Ismail's assassination earlier today.
He said the assassination of Hamas' Political Bureau Chairman was a murder of the most heinous kind, plainly designed to derail ongoing talks aimed at ending the carnage in Gaza that has claimed over 40,000 lives.
“It is patently clear that this could only have been carried out in an environment of utter impunity. Only the heedless and unconscionable will not see the need to intensify pressure on Israel to stop their murderous rampage," Anwar said in a Facebook post.
Similarly, the Foreign Affairs Ministry also strongly condemned the assassination, and called for an immediate and thorough investigation into the assassination, and for those responsible to be brought to justice.
Ismail was killed in an Israeli airstrike targeting his residence in Tehran, Iran, earlier today. He was in the country to witness the inauguration ceremony of Iran's new president Masoud Pezeshkian.
Hamas issued a statement, saying that Ismail's death was due to 'a treacherous Zionist raid on his residence in Tehran', and that the strike was a 'severe escalation' that would not achieve its goals.
Meanwhile, during an official visit to Singapore, United States (US) Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the US was neither aware of nor involved in the assassination.
“It is very hard to speculate, and I have learned over many years never to speculate on the impact one event may have on something else,” he said in response to a query from Singaporean news outlet Channel News Asia.
Although Israel has not officially claimed responsibility for the assassination, The Times of Israel reported that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has convened his security cabinet amid growing pressure and threats of revenge.
