Malaysia calls on Palestine and Israel to demonstrate restraint

PUTRAJAYA: Malaysia has called on Palestine and Israel to demonstrate restraint and take urgent action to stop any further escalation of the conflict between them.

In making the call today, Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Anifah Aman said Malaysia believed that reconciliation and tolerance was the way forward to ensure a sustainable peace dialogue to resolve the Palestine-Israeli conflict.

Malaysia, he said, strongly condemned the excessive use of force by Israeli security personnel that had led to high number of casualties, in particular those resulting from the use of live ammunition.

"Israels ruthless military attacks on civilians are uncalled for and are a crime against humanity," he said in a statement on Monday.

Malaysia therefore stressed the need to ensure that Israeli security forces complied with international standards on the use of force, he said.

Anifah also expressed Malaysia's grave concern on the violence that was spreading rapidly across the entire West Bank due to the ongoing clashes between Palestinian and Israeli security forces. 

In the past week, violent clashes between Palestinians and Israeli security forces had been reported in more than 50 different locations, including in East Jerusalem, Ramallah, Hebron, Bethlehem, Jenin, Tulkarm and Nablus, he said.

Anifah said Malaysia was also deeply concerned at the increasing number of reported attacks, including stone throwing, by both Israeli settlers and Palestinians.

He said Malaysia welcomed the solidarity march that was organized on Oct 18 by like-minded Palestinians and Israelis, calling for an end to the current round of violence. -Bernama