DOHA: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim today demanded severe punitive actions against Israel, denouncing in the strongest and most unequivocal terms the latest airstrikes on Doha, the capital of Qatar, and the ongoing genocide in Gaza.
Anwar emphasised the need for decisive measures, stating that condemnations will not stop the missiles, and declarations will not free Palestine.
“Severe punitive actions must be put in place. Diplomatic engagements must cease and so must trade relations,” he said firmly in his national statement at the Extraordinary Arab-Islamic Summit held in the Qatari capital, here tonight.
The Prime Minister said the indiscriminate bombing of a sovereign state’s capital was “lawless, barbaric and indefensible”, stressing that it amounted to an assault on Qatar’s sovereignty, a violation of international law, and a reckless provocation that endangered regional security.
“The gravity of this outrage is deepened by Qatar’s vital role as a mediator. Guided by the leadership of His Highness Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, this nation has laboured with perseverance and wisdom to foster dialogue.
“To strike Qatar is to blatantly sabotage those very efforts for peace. This attack must be regarded as an attack against us all,” he said.
Anwar stressed that the Israeli assault was a calculated act of aggression where no nation is to be spared in pursuit of the Israeli Zionist design.
The Prime Minister highlighted that Gaza continued to be crushed with families wiped out, hospitals reduced to rubble, and children buried under debris.
“In the West Bank, the colonial politics of dispossession continue unabated. This barbarity has expanded to attacks and bombardments on Lebanon and Syria, Yemen and Iraq, with attacks on Iran as well.
This pattern of lawlessness shows utter contempt for the very foundations of civilisation and international order,” he said.
The Prime Minister further noted that Israel had openly declared there would never be a Palestinian state, describing it as a declaration of permanent apartheid and a repudiation of every UN resolution and the right of self-determination.
Addressing the leaders, Anwar stressed that those nations with special relationships with the United States carried particular responsibility.
“When America sought dialogue with Iran, Israel answered with bombs. When Washington encouraged mediation with Hamas, Israel struck here in Doha,” he said.
The Prime Minister also drew attention to a flotilla currently sailing toward Gaza, carrying humanitarian aid instead of weapons.
“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…to defend the weak, to shelter the oppressed, to give food to the hungry,” he said.
Anwar is attending the extraordinary summit at the invitation of Sheikh Tamim, the Emir of Qatar, following the latest developments involving Israeli attacks on the country.
The Malaysian delegation includes Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan, Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Religious Affairs) Dr Zulkifli Hasan, and senior officials of the Foreign Ministry. – Bernama
