Photo: Bernama
PETALING JAYA: Malaysia will participate in the public hearing next month at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Israel’s policies and practices in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.
Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan said Malaysia will participate in the open hearing from Feb 19 at The Hague, Netherlands, and is expected to deliver its oral statement on Feb 22.
“In upholding international law and the rights of the oppressed, Malaysia, on July 23, 2023, along with 56 other countries, submitted a written statement for the ‘Advisory Opinion, on the legal consequences of Israel’s ongoing violations in the Palestinian territory’ at the ICJ.
“We condemn Israel’s apartheid practices and persecution against the Palestinian people in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
“As a member state of the UN, Israel must respect and implement the relevant resolutions of the council.
“The council cannot allow Israel to behave like an exception to the rule,” Mohamad said in a statement delivered at the Security Council Open Debate on the Situation in the Middle East, Including the Palestinian Question, held in New York yesterday morning (Malaysian time).
Mohamad reiterated Malaysia’s call to the council to take united and decisive action to stop the war in Gaza, saying its inability to call for a ceasefire is partly responsible for the carnage in Gaza.
“Just last week, Under Secretary-General Martin Griffith said that Gaza is ‘a stain on our collective conscience’, and that our inaction would become a permanent mark on humanity.
“Indeed, the (Security) Council’s inability to call for a ceasefire is partly responsible for what is now over 100 days of carnage in Gaza.
“More than 23,000 Palestinians have been killed. On average, 246 Palestinians are killed every day, or 10 murders every hour.
“Malaysia is appalled that Israel has been allowed to carry out what can only be described as indiscriminate bombing on homes, shelters, evacuation routes and medical centres,” he added.
Malaysia, he said, also demanded accountability for Israel’s clear violations of international law and supported the decision by South Africa to institute proceedings against Israel before the ICJ.
“The lack of accountability for Israel’s war crimes undermines the legitimacy of international law and efforts towards ending the illegal occupation of Palestine.
“The majority has spoken, and their demands should not be ignored. We are witnessing a great historical irony in Gaza.
“The state of Israel was born from the horrors of the Second World War. And yet, for the past 75 years, it has been inflicting that same deliberate destruction on the Palestinian people and is now pursuing it to its premeditated end,” said Mohamad.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim in a Facebook post soon after Mohamad’s UN statement, said Malaysia’s wish for Palestine to be accepted as a full member of the UN and the call for a ceasefire were conveyed by Mohamad to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in New York.
Malaysia remained resolute that Palestine deserved its own independence and the right to create a sovereign state.
