YABhg. Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad, President of Perdana Global Peace Foundation (PGPF) addresses the ongoing genocide and the resumption of Israeli killings of Palestinians.
In the video HE Tun Dr. Mahathir reiterates calls for action to secure peace, security and humanitarian aid for the Palestinians.
VIDEO MESSAGE BY HE TUN DR MAHATHIR BIN MOHAMAD
FOR GAZA
- As I speak today, Israel returns to what has become its second nature, murdering and killing Palestinians, in Gaza in particular.
- I have expressed my doubts when the Israelis agreed to a ceasefire two months ago. I would have been very glad to be proven wrong but obviously, the Tel Aviv regime does not have any shred of humanity left in them.
- Since Tuesday, the Israelis have killed more than 400 Palestinians in Gaza, forcefully ending the ceasefire and marking a return to its genocide.
- No human being would be able to comprehend Israel’s monstrosity. No words can describe its heinous deed and the closest we can equate it is to the Holocaust. Ironically, the Israelis claim their ancestors were victims of the Holocaust and yet, they are committing acts worst than the holocaust.
- In this holy month of Ramadan the images portrayed out of Gaza are terrible but hauntingly familiar. Limp bodies of children and civilians, dead and bloodied, continuous destruction of infrastructure, what manner of civilised world do we claim to live in that accepts such terror?
- I am enraged beyond words.
- How can this world accept more than 61,000 deaths – with more than 17,000 of them children, and continue to live our lives as if things are normal.
- Indeed, the tragedy of Gaza has placed humanity at its lowest ebb and yet nothing seems to be done to put a stop to it.
- Surely, this Ramadan is the worse for Palestinians in Gaza. And if this is a test for the Gazans, surely this tragedy is also a test for the rest of the Muslim world which can do nothing to stop the carnage.
- The inability to stand for our fellow Muslims beyond acts of condemnation is just as tragic.
- And the resumption of violence is continuing as the Islamic world continues to grapple with suggestion to expel Gazans completely out of their land by the US President Donald Trump.
- Though he later corrected himself, his initial suggestions obviously reflected what goes on in his mind and, that to him, the Palestinians in Gaza are sub-human whose lives do not matter.
- Egypt’s US$53 billion proposal for the rebuilding of Gaza in early March, tabled at an emergency Arab League Summit had received majority support from member countries. But its execution is far from achievable.
- Prior to the resumption of airstrikes, all aid entering Gaza had been blocked by Israel for more than two weeks.
- While many countries have condemned the actions of Israel it continues to conduct its genocide with impunity, emboldened by financial, military and weapons aid from the United States and from Europe.
Through the UN Security Council, Egypt again has proposed for an international presence in Gaza.
Whether it is achievable remains to be seen, but an international peacekeeping force is very much needed.
I too had mentioned during the Perdana Global Peace Foundation (PGPF) Colloquium last year for a UN Peacekeeping Force to be mobilised in Gaza to secure aid to the 2 million internally displaced people.
It has also been brought to my attention that the Global Coalition Against Occupation of Palestine (GCAOP) which is made up of 50 organisations from 30 different countries are also of the same opinion.
The GCAOP’s Malaysian representative is the Centre for Human Rights Research and Advocacy (CENTHRA).
According to CENTHRA, the UN’s “Uniting for Peace Resolution” (UNGA Res. 377(V), 1950) resolves that if the Security Council fails to exercise its responsibility to maintain international peace and security, the General Assembly may call for an emergency special session.
It was further explained that a veto at the UN Security Council can be superseded for urgent action by the UN General Assembly.
Given the gravity of the situation, there is certainly an urgent need for a permanent ceasefire and recognition of Palestinian Rights to self-determination.
In line with my earlier point for the presence of UN Peacekeeping Forces, the GCAOP also calls for military intervention to secure much needed humanitarian aid corridor.
They also call for the sanction on any entity or individual responsible for blocking aid into Gaza, citing the Fourth Geneva Convention and International Humanitarian Law.
On behalf of Perdana Global Peace Foundation, I support this movement in aid of the people of Gaza. We have to put in whatever possible effort we can to remedy the situation.
And I will not stop shouting out that from the River to the Sea, Palestine will be free!
Thank you.