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Malaysia:
Israel Must Withdraw Before Talks With Palestine
By
Kazi Mahmood, IOL South East Asia correspondent
ALOR
SETAR, Malaysia, April 22 (IslamOnline) - Israel must withdraw its
forces from all the occupied territories in Palestine before any peace
talks can be held between the two parties, Malaysia’s Deputy Prime
Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawai said Sunday, April 21, news agencies
reported.
The
deputy prime minister said Malaysia also wanted to see peace returning
to the region and enjoyed by the residents, especially the
Palestinians, Bernama news agency reported.
He
said what was happening in Palestine now was an incursion by Israel
adding that peace talks could only be held after the Israelis had
withdrawn from Palestinian soil.
"Israel
has entered (encroached into) the Palestinian region. They must leave
and the incursion must end now," he told a media conference in
Alor Setar, Kedah.
Badawi
also said that Israel could not use the terrorism issue as a policy
for not withdrawing from Palestinian soil because other parties could
also link incursion to terrorism.
The
Deputy Premier said it was the duty of everyone in the world,
irrespective of religion, to pressure the Israelis to withdraw.
He
said the fight for human rights in Palestine must be supported by the
world community because the Palestinians' rights had been violated.
He
also added that Jerusalem belonged to the Palestinians and they had a
right to it.
On
the other hand, a crowd of 2,000 youths in the state of Johor,
Southern Malaysia organized a pro-Palestinian rally to protest against
Israel’s atrocities there.
More
than 2,000 people gathered in Johor Bahru on Sunday to protest against
the atrocities committed by the Israeli army against Palestinians.
The
peaceful gathering, organized by Johor Umno Youth, started at 2 pm and
lasted about three hours. The multi-racial gathering attracted mostly
youngsters, including those from government parties.
The
protesters wanted the United Nations to pressure Israel into pulling
out all its troops from Palestinian territories.
The
protesters said they probably cannot go there to fight but they wish
to tell the Palestinians that the world is behind them.
Some
of the protestors said they wished Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir
Mohamad present the views of Malaysia during his meeting with United
States President George W. Bush next month.
The
same wish was expressed by Badawi who added it was the duty of the
international community to eradicate unbridled terrorism on a
particular religion or race.
Malaysia
is pressuring the UN and other countries to send troops to Palestine
in order to restore order and safeguard the interest of the
Palestinians.
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