Mahathir’s Malaysia bans all Israeli nationals from events it hosts

Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad’s government on Wednesday defended its hardline anti-Israel stance as it declared it would not budge on banning Israeli athletes from an upcoming Paralympics swimming qualifier despite facing criticism for that stance.

Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah, met in his ministry by local groups lobbying for the Israeli athletes’ ban, said the government would refrain from hosting events featuring Israeli participants in the future.