Malaysia's wish for Palestine to be full UN member conveyed in New York, says PM

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s wish for Palestine to be accepted as a full member of the United Nations (UN) as well as the call for a ceasefire was conveyed by Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan to UN Secretary-General Antonio Gutteres on Tuesday (Jan 23).

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said the call was in line with Gutteres’ statement at the Non-Aligned Movement Summit in Kampala, Uganda, that the right of the Palestinian people to build an independent state cannot be denied.

"Peace can only be achieved and maintained if real rights are returned to those who deserve them.

"If oppression, violence, deprivation of rights, and apartheid policies are allowed to spread, there will be no safe end in life. Surely one day, those who are oppressed and denied all rights will rise up against this kind of injustice," he said in a Facebook post Wednesday (Jan 24).

The Prime Minister also said that Malaysia reaffirmed its principled position that the Palestinians deserved their own independent and sovereign state, based on the pre-1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.

Mohamad, in his speech at the United Nations Security Council Open Debate On The Situation in the Middle East including the Palestinian Question on Tuesday (Wednesday, Malaysian time), said Malaysia demanded accountability for Israel’s clear violations of international law in Gaza.

The lack of accountability for Israel’s war crimes in Gaza undermines the legitimacy of international law, and efforts towards ending the illegal occupation of Palestine, he said. - Bernama