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The Malaysian leader compared Hamas with Nelson Mandela and the African National Congress’ push to end apartheid in South Africa, saying: “Palestine is colonised through apartheid, ethnic cleansing and now genocide. Hence, whatever happened is the legitimate right and struggle of the Palestinian people.”
Unlike Mr Mandela, who won the Nobel Peace Prize for helping facilitate the “peaceful termination of the apartheid regime”, Hamas killed more than 1400 Israelis and took about 240 people hostage in triggering the most recent bout of fighting.
‘I will not accept threats’
Mr Anwar was responding in parliament to a question from an opposition MP, who had sought the government’s stance on the US House of Representative’s Hamas International Financing Prevention Act. The bill was approved on November 1 and imposes sanctions on foreign persons, agencies and governments that assist Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad or their affiliates.
The US is Malaysia’s third-largest trade partner. Last year, their bilateral commerce totalled about $US77 billion ($119 billion), with Malaysia enjoying a trade surplus of $US31.3 billion. Any strain in relations could possibly affect trade terms.
“I will not accept any threats, including this,” said Mr Anwar. “This action is unilateral and not valid because we as members of the United Nations only recognise decisions made by the UN Security Council.”
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres last month said the Hamas killings “did not happen in a vacuum”, adding: “The Palestinian people have been subjected to 56 years of suffocating occupation.”
Malaysia would back efforts by any country – as well as representatives of the Palestinian people – to bring a case against Israel to the International Criminal Court, Mr Anwar added.
Last week, former Malaysian leader Mahathir Mohamad posted a video of a conversation with Hamas’ political leader, Ismail Haniyeh, in which he describes the war as a “genocide” designed to kill as many Palestinians as possible. Mr Haniyeh asks the 98-year-old to help sway Western and Israeli narratives, drawing parallels between Hamas and ISIS.
Bloomberg
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