KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 16 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has stressed the need for stronger joint action to end Israel’s aggression, protect Arab-Islamic nations’ sovereignty, and uphold Palestinians’ rights.
In a Facebook post today, he said this was conveyed during a brief meeting with several leaders on the sidelines of the Extraordinary Arab-Islamic Summit in Qatar yesterday.
The leaders were Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Jordanian King Abdullah II Al Hussein, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, and Kuwaiti Crown Prince Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah.
“We emphasised full support for Qatar, which has become a victim of the aggressive and despicable attacks by the Israeli Zionist regime, while strengthening consensus to defend Palestine,” he said.
Anwar attended the extraordinary summit at the invitation of Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, following developments on Israeli attacks in Qatar.
Yesterday, the prime minister demanded severe punitive actions against Israel, denouncing in the strongest and most unequivocal terms its latest airstrikes on Doha and its ongoing genocide in Palestine’s Gaza.
Anwar emphasised the need for decisive measures, stating that condemnations will not stop the missiles, and declarations will not free Palestine.
“Severe punitive actions must be put in place. Diplomatic engagements must cease and so must trade relations,” he said in his national statement at the Extraordinary Arab-Islamic Summit held in Doha last night.
He said the indiscriminate bombing of a sovereign state’s capital is “lawless, barbaric and indefensible”, stressing that it amounts to an assault on Qatar’s sovereignty, a violation of international law, and a reckless provocation that endangers regional security.
“The gravity of this outrage is deepened by Qatar’s vital role as a mediator. Guided by the leadership of His Highness Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, this nation has laboured with perseverance and wisdom to foster dialogue.
“To strike Qatar is to blatantly sabotage those very efforts for peace. This attack must be regarded as an attack against us all,” he said.
Anwar stressed that the Israeli assault is a calculated act of aggression where no nation would be spared in pursuit of Israel’s Zionist design.
He highlighted that Gaza would continue to be crushed and Palestinian families wiped out, hospitals reduced to rubble, and children buried under debris.
“In the West Bank, the colonial politics of dispossession continue unabated. This barbarity has expanded to attacks and bombardments on Lebanon and Syria, Yemen and Iraq, with attacks on Iran as well.
“This pattern of lawlessness shows utter contempt for the very foundations of civilisation and international order,” he said.
He further noted that Israel has openly declared that there would never be a Palestinian state, and called it a declaration of permanent apartheid and a repudiation of every United Nations resolution and Palestine’s right to self-determination.
Addressing the leaders, Anwar stressed that nations with special relationships with the United States carry especial responsibility.
“When America sought dialogue with Iran, Israel answered with bombs. When Washington encouraged mediation with Hamas, Israel struck here in Doha,” he said.
Anwar also drew attention to a flotilla currently sailing toward Gaza, carrying humanitarian aid instead of weapons.
“It is a mission of mercy, and we must do all in our power to see that it reaches its shore. To let it be turned back with violence is to betray the charge that our conscience has placed upon us… to defend the weak, to shelter the oppressed, to give food to the hungry,” he said.
The Malaysian delegation to Qatar includes Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan, Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Religious Affairs) Zulkifli Hasan, and senior officials of the Foreign Ministry
