Malaysia will reportedly be one of four countries that will be hosting Palestinian prisoners recently released by Israel as part of the ceasefire deal, as announced by a Palestinian official on 3 February.
Specifically, Malaysia, Turkiye, Qatar, and Pakistan will each host 15 Palestinian prisoners, as the ceasefire deal agreed that the 60 individuals wouldn’t be released to the Gaza Strip or the West Bank.
15 Palestinian prisoners released by Israel will be deported to Malaysia
According to the official state news agency of the People’s Republic of China, Xinhua News Agency, head of the Palestinian Prisoners Club, Abdullah Zaghari, asserted that the 60 prisoners are currently in Egypt, pending deportation to the four countries.
He added that there are currently 70 Palestinian prisoners staying in a hotel in the New Administrative Capital of Egypt, and discussions are still ongoing with other countries to secure hosting for the remaining prisoners.
Moreover, talks are on the way with Cairo to accommodate others who may be released by Israel in future batches.
Israel demanded that the prisoners wouldn’t be released to the Gaza Strip or the West Bank
Previously, 18 hostages were released by Hamas in exchange for Israel releasing hundreds of Palestinians from its prisons as part of the ceasefire deal that took effect on 19 January.
Local Israeli media reported that Israel demanded that Palestinians “convicted of the most serious crimes” would not be released to the Gaza Strip or the West Bank. These individuals are currently in Egypt as the country agreed to temporarily host them.
As of the time of writing, the Malaysian Government has yet to release any statements regarding the hosting of the 15 Palestinian prisoners released by Israel.
Source : WOB
Siti Kasim enlightens Rais Hussin why Palestinian prisoners ain’t welcome in Malaysia
HUMAN rights activist and lawyer Siti Kasim has stood her ground in opposing the Madani government’s interest in accepting so-called Palestinian convicts whose imprisonment is not political persecution in nature but who were ex-Hamas fighters (terrorists) serving long-term jail sentence in Tel Aviv for war crimes.
This follows the purported deportation of some 60 Palestinian prisoners to Turkey, Qatar, Malaysia and Pakistan with each country set to host 15 prisoners each as reported by India’s National Herald citing the Palestinian Prisoners Club head Abdullah Zaghari.
However, her action of subtly opposing such exercise in her X account with sarcasm “Bagus laaa … bring all of the criminals here … 🙄” hit a snag when former Bersatu co-founder-turned PKR member Datuk Dr Rais Hussin described her as a “heartless moron”.
“You are such a heartless moron! These Palestinians who are in the Israeli prison were fighting for their rights without any charge, prosecution or court appearance … they were kidnapped, held hostage … you are really, really sick!”
Obviously Siti Kasim “returned fire” at the head honcho of think tank EMIR Research for his unkind reaction.
“I’m proud to be heartless towards these prisoners because we don’t need terrorists in our country … Is it right for them to kill others just because they’re Jews? Is there you (Rais) or the Madani government are coming from?” lambasted the Orang Asli advocate in a YouTube video.
“Little wonder our country is so screwed because you’re only looking at the Muslim lenses … I ‘m aghast at the mindset and mentality of our country for bringing in people who’re terrorists and killers.
“I just can’t fathom as to why the Madani government is willing to accept these worst among the worst prisoners … start to worry, Malaysians … why is our government bringing rubbish into our country?”
Earlier, Siti Kasim had – for Rais and the likes of him – exposed that the 60 soon-to-be-deported Palestinian prisoners are on suspicion of militancy as opposed to another 111 released yesterday (Jan 8) who have been held without trial since the day after the Oct. 7, 2023 Israeli invasion of Gaza.
Editor’s Note: Bernama reported that the Israeli occupation authorities released the fifth batch of Palestinian prisoners, involving 183 individuals yesterday (Feb 9) under a Gaza ceasefire agreement citing the Palestine News and Information Agency (WAFA).
According to the Palestinian Prisoners’ Society and the Palestinian Authority’s Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs Commission, the release included 18 individuals serving life sentences, 54 others with long-term sentences and 111 detainees from Gaza arrested after Oct 7, 2023.
She even went on to list down the identity and crime of some of the 60 said prisoners whom Rais has described as “fighting for their rights”.
Three of them, for example, were accused of plotting a suicide bombing at a crowded pool hall near Tel Aviv in 2002 that killed 15 people.
“Later that year, they were found to have orchestrated a bombing at Hebrew University that killed nine people, including five American students. Israel had described Odeh (one of the trio) who was working as a painter at the university at the time as the kingpin in the attack,” added Siti Kasim.
Source : Focus
Overplaying Palestine issue won’t backfire on Anwar, say analysts
Two analysts have dismissed the notion that Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s plan to help rebuild Gaza will backfire on his leadership, but say a balance must be struck between international and domestic issues.
James Chin of University of Tasmania said Anwar’s plans to help rebuild the war-torn strip may solidify his support among the Muslim community.
“I think his position on the Palestinian cause is very popular with the Muslim population in Malaysia. And the Muslim population is the majority in the country,” he told FMT.
Chin said a backlash would only arise if the economy worsens and the ringgit weakens, as the public would accuse Anwar for focusing on Palestine and neglecting domestic issues.
“So, that is the clear danger. He has to balance that when he is working on this (Palestine) issue,” he said, adding that the economy was “still in trouble” as the nation had yet to fully recover from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
He added that Anwar’s push to help Palestinians would alienate the non-Muslim population, who may feel the prime minister was trying to boost his Muslim credentials and, therefore, does not give the impression that he is a leader for all Malaysians.
Julau MP Larry Sng, responding to the government’s plan to help with rebuilding efforts in Gaza, was reported to have said that Anwar must understand that his first priority is Malaysia and that overplaying the Palestinian cause will backfire on his leadership.
Anwar has since rebuked his critics, hitting out at their lack of compassion.
Azmil Tayeb of Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) also disagreed with Sng that overplaying the Palestine issue would backfire on Anwar’s leadership.
He said Anwar just needs to strike a balance between his commitment to aiding Gaza while also addressing local economic and public concerns.
Azmil felt that Putrajaya needed to better explain the decision and justify that it was done on humanitarian grounds.
“The government needs to take control of this narrative that it is imperative to help the needy both at home and abroad,” he said.
Azmi Hassan from Akademi Nusantara said there was no question about “overplaying” the Palestinian cause as it aligns with the country’s long-standing foreign policy.
He pointed out that Anwar’s predecessors have advocated for Palestine’s independence as a sovereign state, but in their own way, implicitly or otherwise.
“Malaysia’s foreign policy towards the Palestinian cause has been consistent since the country’s independence,” he said.
Source : FMT
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