ISTANBUL: Veteran Malaysian statesman Mahathir Mohamad in a broadside at the Western nations said ‘core values,’ including the right to and sanctity of life, have been abandoned by the US and European nations in Gaza.
Mahathir, who led Malaysia three times as one of the world’s longest-serving prime ministers, told Anadolu in an exclusive interview that there was a need for reforms at the UN, as well as inside the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), to deal with common problems affecting the world, including Palestine.
In the wake of the Israeli war on Gaza, Mahathir, 98, rued that there was ‘no more civilization.’
‘I feel that what is happening to the Palestinian people in Gaza is something that nobody expects.’
But Mahathir contended that Palestinians had reacted to continued oppression by Israel.
‘For 70 years, the Israelis have been oppressing the Palestinians. They have actually built settlements on Palestinian land. They have built walls in Palestinian land.
‘They have taken Jerusalem as th
eir capital. All these things are against international law and against the Palestinians,’ he said.
The Malaysian politician added: ‘If you oppress the Palestinian people, the Palestinian people have a right to take action against Israel, and I think that is what they did on the seventh of October last year.’
Israel, flouting a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire, has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal offensive on Gaza since an Oct. 7, 2023 attack by the Palestinian group Hamas.
Nearly 37,900 Palestinians have since been killed, mostly women and children, and around 87,000 others injured, according to local health authorities.
‘If Israel had the right to look at the security, so have the Palestinians,” said Mahathir.
US, EU support for Israel show they don’t value human rights, freedom
Mahathir said that over several centuries, ‘humanity has developed values, core values, which we all accept’ and they include the right of man, the right to life, the
sanctity of life, and the freedom from oppression and free speech.
‘These are things that we accept and we value. But it is quite clear that when the Israelis committed genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, the support given by America and the European countries show that they do not hold to the core values we talk about,’ the veteran Malaysian politician said.
Source: Anadolu Agency