31 Jan 2019; MEMO: Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Muhammed denounces US President Donald Trump’s “unfair and heavily one-sided” so-called peace plan for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, unveiled at the White House on Tuesday.
In a statement today, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) noted that the Palestinians have every right to reject the deal as they were not directly involved in or even consulted over the formulation of the proposal.
Under Trump’s proposals, which was drafted without the input of any Palestinian groups, allows Israel to keep all of its settlements in the West Bank and annex large parts of the Palestinian territories that it currently occupies.
Jerusalem would become its “undivided” capital and Palestinians living in Israel would be transferred to the West Bank.
Moreover, the plan would abolish the right of return for Palestinian refugees displaced during the 1948 Nakba and their descendants, a key Palestinian demand.
Prime Minister Muhammed is a known advocate of the Palestinian cause and has publicly opposed the Israeli government during various international forums, most recent during his speech at the United Nations (UN) General Assembly last September.
The PMO reiterated Malaysia’s “position that the creation of an independent State of Palestine through the two-state solution, based on the pre-1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as the capital of Palestine, is the only viable solution to the Palestine-Israel conflict.”
Deeming it “utterly unacceptable”, it also stressed that Malaysia will only support concrete and honest efforts to find a lasting solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict based on international law and relevant UN resolutions through negotiations involving the parties.
Malaysia has long been steadfast in its support for the Palestinian cause and refuses entry for Israeli passport holders as part of a policy of diplomatic non-recognition of Israel.
In October last year, Malaysia announced plans to open an embassy accredited to Palestine in the Jordanian capital Amman to better facilitate aid to Palestinians.
