PETALING JAYA: Malaysia welcomes Palestinian resistance group Hamas’ conditional acceptance of a 20-point proposal by US President Donald Trump to halt Israeli strikes in Gaza and the West Bank, says Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan (pic).
The Foreign Minister said Hamas has agreed to release all hostages provided Israeli forces withdraw completely from Gaza and that the future administration be led by professional Palestinians, not outsiders.
“We welcome the move as ‘a small but crucial window’ towards lasting peace and the resumption of humanitarian aid into Gaza.
“With this development, Malaysia and NGOs must be ready to channel supplies through Rafah and King Hussein gates once access is granted,” he said at the Sumud Nusantara Command Centre (SNCC) in Sepang yesterday.
Hamas was reported to have accepted part of a ceasefire plan proposed by Trump.
Meanwhile, SNCC director-general Datuk Dr Sani Araby Abdul Alim said all humanitarian supplies on board, including rice, instant noodles, biscuits and medicines, remain aboard the intercepted vessels.
“We condemn the unlawful interception of these aid shipments. This mission was purely humanitarian.
“Malaysia must now prepare to be among the first to deliver aid once an agreement is reached.”
Sani Araby said SNCC and local NGOs such as Mapim, Cinta Gaza Malaysia and My Aqsa Defender are ready to mobilise another mission.
On another matter, Mohamad said Trump’s upcoming visit to Kuala Lumpur to attend the 47th Asean Summit was at the invitation made in Malaysia’s capacity as Asean Chair, and the United States is a dialogue partner.
He said Trump was not invited on the basis of Malaysia-US bilateral relations but as the head of state of an Asean dialogue partner, and the invitation was in line with the Chair’s responsibility to invite all leaders.
“As Asean Chair, Malaysia invites all dialogue partners equally. Our role is to ensure fairness and neutrality.
“There cannot be a situation where some countries are invited while others are not; that is not good diplomatic practice. Asean must be seen as adhering to a policy of neutrality,” he said.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim had extended an official invitation to Trump to attend the Asean-US Summit and the East Asia Summit, which will be held alongside the Asean Summit.
The 47th Asean Summit is scheduled to take place from Oct 26 to 28, with participation from key leaders across Asia, Europe, Canada, Africa and Latin America.
