Arab and international
With immediate effect.. Malaysia prevents an Israeli shipping company from entering its ports
Al Hurra - Dubai
December 20, 2023
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The ban is a response to Israel's actions that violate basic humanitarian principles and international laws
The ban is a response to Israel's actions that violate basic humanitarian principles and international laws
Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said on Wednesday that Malaysia will immediately prevent the Israeli shipping company Zim from docking in its ports.
He added, "This ban is a response to Israel's actions that violate basic humanitarian principles and international laws," referring to its military operation in Gaza, which caused the death and injury of tens of thousands of Palestinian civilians.
It is noteworthy that Malaysia is a country with a Muslim majority, and has good relations with the Hamas movement, which is classified as a terrorist organization in the United States and European countries, and is visited frequently by officials and cadres from the movement.
Last October 16, Ibrahim said that his country does not agree with Western pressure to denounce Hamas, after the October 7 attack.
He stressed that Western and European countries repeatedly asked Malaysia in meetings to denounce Hamas, without providing details.
He added in a speech before Parliament at the time, "I said that, politically, we have a relationship with Hamas and that this policy will continue."
He continued, "Accordingly, we do not agree with their pressured position, as Hamas also won (power) in Gaza freely through elections and the people of Gaza chose it for leadership."
Malaysia has always declared its strong support for the Palestinian cause, and has advocated a two-state solution to the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians. Malaysia does not have diplomatic relations with Israel.
Senior Hamas leaders often visited Malaysia before that and met with its senior officials. In 2013, former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak defied the Israeli blockade on Gaza and crossed into the Palestinian Strip at the invitation of Hamas.
The Malaysian decision comes in light of several shipping companies announcing the cessation of their operations in the Red Sea after Houthi attacks on ships and tankers that the group says deal with Israel or are owned by Israeli companies or businessmen.
On the other hand, US Secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austin, announced on Monday the launch of a multinational operation to protect trade in the Red Sea following a series of missile and drone attacks launched by the Iran-aligned Houthis in Yemen.
Austin said, during a visit to Bahrain, which hosts the US fleet in the Middle East, that the participating countries include Britain, Bahrain, Canada, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Seychelles, and Spain. He added that they will conduct joint patrols in the southern Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.
“This is an international challenge that requires collective action,” Austin said in a statement, announcing the launch of “Operation Prosperity Sentinel,” an “important new multinational security initiative.”
The Houthis say that they are continuing their attacks in support of the Palestinians in Gaza, while there has been a sharp decline in the number of ships heading to the port of Eilat in the Gulf of Aqaba.
The war broke out between Israel and Hamas after a surprise attack launched by the movement on military sites and residential areas adjacent to the Gaza Strip, on October 7, killing about 1,140 people, the majority of them civilians, and about 250 hostages were taken to the Strip, according to the Israeli authorities, 129 of whom are still being held in prison. Gaza.
In response to the attack, Israel vowed to "eliminate" Hamas and began a large-scale offensive that caused massive destruction in the besieged Gaza Strip. The bombing killed at least 19,667 people, about 70 percent of them women and children, according to the latest toll from the Hamas government on Tuesday, with thousands more missing and feared to be buried under the rubble.
The Israeli army announced the killing of 132 soldiers since the start of its ground operations on October 27.
A truce that took effect on November 24 and continued until December 1 allowed for the release of 80 hostages who were being held in the Gaza Strip in exchange for 240 Palestinian detainees in Israeli prisons
موضوع: ماليزيا ستمنع على الفور شركة الشحن الإسرائيلية