Mohamad calls for Israel to end Gaza aid blockade
The Foreign Minister said these developments have raised urgent fears of an imminent famine, with starvation and malnutrition already severely affecting thousands of civilians, particularly children.
'Malaysia expresses grave, continuing concern over the ongoing humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza as a result of the relentless genocide and ethnic cleansing perpetrated by the Israeli Zionist regime.
'Since October 2023, more than 60,000 Palestinians have been killed and nearly 150,000 injured, with 1.9 million Palestinians being forcibly displaced amid the unrelenting aggression of the Israeli Zionist regime,' he said in a statement.
Mohamad said Malaysia was also deeply alarmed by the unfolding humanitarian crisis that the world has witnessed silently for the past 22 months.
He also condemned the brutal killings of more than 1,300 Palestinians who had been waiting in line to receive aid from the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation since May this year, adding that this has to be investigated and the perpetrators brought to justice.
Malaysia, he said, wished to reiterate in the strongest terms that the Israeli government must stop the killings, cease all attempts at forced displacement of Palestinians and immediately end the blockade of aid.
Israel's failure to do so are violations of international law, international humanitarian law and international human rights law.
'We note the outcome of the recent high-level International Conference for the Peaceful Settlement of the Questions of Palestine and Implementation of the two-state solution held in New York, which saw widespread international support for the realisation of a two-state solution with a call for urgent and sustained humanitarian assistance as well as a raft of other initiatives.
'We welcome the international community's shift to condemn Israel and move towards pragmatic, action-oriented measures to resolve the question of securing Palestinian statehood,' he said.
Malaysia, he said, reaffirms its unwavering solidarity with the Palestinian people and their inalienable right to self-determination.
It also remained steadfast in supporting the establishment of an independent and sovereign state of Palestine, based on pre-1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital and Palestine's membership in the United Nations.
On Friday, government spokesman and Communications Minister Datuk Fahmi Fadzil said Mohamad had briefed the Cabinet on the situation in Palestine.
He said Malaysia's permanent representative to the UN was also asked to review and sign a joint declaration, among others, urging Hamas to disarm and relinquish its governance over Gaza at the UN conference, but the government decided that more time was needed to study the document.
Fahmi added that Wisma Putra has been given time to review the declaration in full.
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