DOHA: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has demanded severe punitive actions against Israel and urged Arab and Islamic nations to move beyond mere statements, warning that words alone will not stop the violence in Gaza and the region.
“Condemnations will not stop the missiles.
“Declarations will not free Palestine.
“Severe punitive actions must be put in place.
“Diplomatic engagements must cease, and so must trade relations,” he said while delivering Malaysia’s national statement at the Emergency Arab-Islamic Summit in Doha today.
Anwar said the international community has grown weary of repeated statements while Israel continues to escalate with impunity.
He said future generations would question whether Muslim nations found the courage to act, insisting that countries need only meet their basic obligations to do so.
Malaysia strongly condemned the Israeli airstrikes on Doha, with Anwar describing the attack as “lawless, barbaric and indefensible.”
He said the strikes were not only an assault on Qatar’s sovereignty but also a reckless provocation that endangers the security of the region.
“This attack is certainly a calculated assault where no nation is to be spared in pursuit of the Israeli Zionist aggression,” he said, noting Qatar’s vital role as a mediator between Hamas, Egypt and the United States.
Anwar also called for international support to ensure that the Global Sumud Flotilla, the Gaza-bound convoy comprising at least 40 vessels carrying between 500 and 700 activists from more than 40 countries, reaches its destination.
“It is a mission of mercy, and we must do all in our power to see that it reaches its shore.
“To let it be turned back with violence is to betray the charge that our conscience has placed upon us,” he said.
He condemned Israel’s rejection of a Palestinian state, calling it “a declaration of permanent apartheid” and a repudiation of every UN resolution on Palestine and the right of self-determination.
“Meanwhile, Gaza continues to be crushed before our very eyes. Its people have endured decimation and devastation without precedent; families wiped out, hospitals reduced to ruins, children buried under rubble,” he said.
Anwar is attending the extraordinary summit at the invitation of the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, following the latest developments involving Israeli attacks on the country.
Also present were Malaysia’s Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan and Malaysian Ambassador to Qatar Faizal Razali.
The prime minister’s delegation includes Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Religious Affairs) Dr Zulkifli Hasan and senior officials from the Foreign Ministry.
© New Straits Times Press (M) Bhd
