PUTRAJAYA: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has called for stronger cooperation between ASEAN countries and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) to end Israel’s atrocities in Gaza.

Speaking to reporters after performing Aidiladha prayers at Masjid Putra here today, Anwar said that regional and international collective efforts are crucial to ending the prolonged conflict and the suffering of the Palestinian people.

“We’ve conveyed our stance (through a Wisma Putra statement), but this cannot be the effort of just one country. As we saw in recent engagements with Gulf nations, there is a shared consensus.

“So ASEAN, the Gulf states, and a few other countries can come together to provide a clear message and exert strong pressure on the world to put a stop to it (Israel’s brutality),” he said.

He was responding to the United States’ use of its veto power on a United Nations Security Council (UNSC) draft resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and the lifting of restrictions on humanitarian aid.