KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia has slammed Israel's plans to seize control of Gaza, describing it as "modern-day colonisation".
Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan said the plan marked a bold escalation of Israel's long-held ambition to occupy Palestinian land.
"Reported plans for an Israeli military takeover of Gaza are an outrage. What they are planning now is a bold escalation of their long-held wish to occupy Palestinian lands for good.
"This is modern-day colonisation and an insult to the diplomatic efforts of all," he said when delivering Malaysia's statement at the Extraordinary Meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on Monday (Aug 25).
He said despite sincere mediation attempts by various parties, Israel has not only refused to comply with calls for peace or a ceasefire, it also ignored repeated calls to protect civilians, allow safe evacuation and facilitate humanitarian aid.
"We asked them not to harm civilians. They blew up housing areas, schools and hospitals. We asked them to let civilians evacuate to safe areas.
"They bombarded evacuation zones. We asked them to let in humanitarian aid. They attacked those bringing supplies, cut off the delivery of aid and starved all of Gaza," he said.
The United Nations (UN) had officially declared a famine in Gaza, with acute malnutrition, no access to food and an increasingly high death toll, he noted.
He said Malaysia, like many members of the international community, had extended assistance through the (United Nations Relief and Works Agency) UNRWA and other channels to ease the suffering of the Palestinian people but such efforts continued to be obstructed by the regime.
Mohamad warned that the atrocities committed by Israeli occupying forces over the past two years are only the beginning.
"Israel has made it clear that it will never cooperate. And let me be clear – it will not stop.
"Israel's ambition has always been expansion. We know that 'greater Israel' is not a new concept. It has always been an Israeli national policy, to usurp surrounding land to build settlements and to violently eliminate anyone standing in the way.
He also warned that Israel's violence, which began with Palestine, would not end there, as it would continue to expand, grabbing land around the region and intimidating its critics.
"But there is still time for the members of the ummah to save those among us in need.
"Someday, when there is an independent Palestinian state, with East Jerusalem as its capital, we will know that the Islamic peoples around the world made this possible. But we must continue to raise our voices, every single day, until peace and justice come to Palestine at last," he said.
Israel has killed more than 62,000 Palestinians in its brutal onslaught on Gaza since October 2023. The military campaign has devastated Gaza and facing famine. – Bernama
