Stop military assistance, PAS urges US

836

KUALA LUMPUR: PAS today submitted a memorandum to the US embassy urging the US government to stop all military assistance to Israel, which it said had robbed Palestinians of their fundamental rights.

“US is Israel’s strongest ally. We want the US to stop its military assistance to Israel,” said PAS deputy president Nasharuddin Mat Isa.

“We want the US to force its ally Israel to drop its weapons and stop persecuting Palestinian Muslims.”

Nasharuddin was speaking to reporters after handing over the memorandum to US embassy’s political counsellor Brian McFeeters.

The memorandum also called on the Malaysian government to terminate all ties with Egypt, which is blamed for the attack.

“We also want the government to put pressure on Egypt. Egypt is the cause of yesterday’s tragedy.

“Egypt closed the Rafah border and relief groups were forced to use the sea route to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza,” he said, adding that PAS condemned the US silence on the issue, which appeared as though the super power “endorsed the Israeli attack”.

The group also called on the government to take a proactive stand in urging the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) and the United Nations to immediately convene a sitting over the issue.

Also present at the protest this morning were PAS vice-presidents Mahfuz Omar and Salahuddin Ayub, and central council members Syed Azman Syed Ahmad Nawawi, Zulkefly Ahmad and Dr Lo Lo Ghazali.

A similar memorandum was also submitted by PKR supreme council member Mustafa Kamil Ayub. With him were MPs Sivarasa Rasiah (Subang), Tian Chua (Batu), Nurul Izzah (Lembah Pantai) and Youth wing chief Shamsul Iskandar Mat Akin.

Tian Chua, meanwhile, said the Israeli attack would further isolate the Jewish nation from the international community and disrupt peace in the region.

Another memorandum was also submitted by a Council of Islamic Organisations (Mapim)’s secretary-general Mohd Azmi Abdul Hamid.

More than 200 protesters, bearing banners and posters condemning the Israeli attack, had gathered to voice their anger.