Report: “If Palestinians are terrorists, what are Israelis?”

Report: “If Palestinians are terrorists, what are Israelis?”

THE world seems to be turning a blind eye and a deaf ear in its condemnation of the Hamas terrorist attack on Israel last Saturday (Oct 7) but the bias attitude demonstrated by the global community will not free Palestinians from Israel’s grip.

In an interview with Utusan Malaysia, Palestinian Ambassador to Malaysia, Walid Abu Ali said Israel’s brutality on Palestinian land is real and isn’t a form of propaganda as done by the Zionists to fool the world.

“Why is it that when Israel attacks Palestine, the people don’t label them as terrorists? The Western media called our fighters ‘militants’ when all we are fighting for is freedom in our own land,” he told the Malay news portal.

“The world called for Hamas to stop its attacks on Israel, but nobody told the Zionists to stop suppressing and killing our people. If [Palestinians] are terrorists, what is Israel?

“Many are asking why did Hamas launch a large-scale attack this time around and I think the global community has the answer to that question.”

On Saturday, the Hamas militant group launched a surprise assault on Israel from Gaza, leading Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to declare war on Palestine.

Al Jazeera reported yesterday (Oct 9) that Hamas fighters have killed more than 800 Israelis in assaults on multiple towns in southern Israel, and in response, Israel had launched a bombing campaign in the Gaza Strip, killing more than 500 Palestinians.

Walid further urged Malaysians to not forget Palestine and continue lending support to the war-torn country.

“Please continue your support for Palestine and continue standing in solidarity to our country. We are not asking for more, we just want to be free in our own country,” he said.

He also said the people in Gaza are in dire need of basic supplies including food as many infrastructures have been destroyed in the conflict, adding that many of those living in the vicinity had vacated their homes due to safety and security reasons.

“The people in Gaza have evacuated from the conflict zone to safer areas with nothing but the clothes on their backs as they have nothing to take with them after their homes were destroyed by the Israeli army in the counterattack,” Walid said.

Meanwhile, speaking on the “Israel-Palestine Conflict” programme on Bernama TV yesterday in response to the ongoing conflict, Walid also said said Palestine and the Palestinians look to Malaysia to play a stronger role in the regional and international platforms, including in the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation and United Nations in raising the Palestinian issue.

“Malaysia is a very influential country and can play a greater role to convince the international community to be fair to the Palestinians and to support the Palestinians’ rights to have their own independence and freedom,” he was reported as saying by NST.

According to Walid, there could only be one solution to the conflict, that is for Israel to recognise the Palestinians’ rights and independence.

“Peace and stability in the Middle East can only be achieved when Palestinians [have] peace and settlement in the region. Without Israel recognising Palestinians’ rights to independence, peace will never be achieved,” he said. – Oct 10, 2023