Malaysian PM defends Hamas ties in Germany
Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim on Monday was forced to defend his country’s continued ties to the Palestinian militant group Hamas during a visit to Germany, a staunch supporter of Israel.
Hamas’ unprecedented attacks on southern Israel on October 7 triggered a war in the Gaza Strip, with the fighting showing no sign of a letup after more than five months.
Muslim-majority Malaysia has no diplomatic relations with Israel and many in the Southeast Asian nation support the Palestinians.
Speaking at a news conference with Germany’s Chancellor Olaf Scholz in the capital Berlin, Anwar was repeatedly asked about Malaysia’s long-standing ties to Hamas and stance on the war.
He stressed Malaysia’s links were with Hamas’ political wing, adding: “I make no apologies about it.”
“We do not have any connection with any military outfit or wing. I’ve clarified this to many of my European colleagues [and] the United States,” he said.
Anwar urged people to “understand the fundamental root cause of the problem” that triggered the conflict.
“What I reject strongly is this narrative, this obsession, as if the entire problem begins and ends with the [seventh] of October,” he said.
There had been decades of “atrocities, plunder and dispossession of Palestinians,” he added.
Scholz reiterated Germany’s position that “Israel has the right to defend itself against Hamas’ terror attack.”
He also stressed that Berlin “wants more humanitarian aid to reach Gaza,” saying “we want the hostages to be released unconditionally, we want there to be no unnecessary casualties.”
The chancellor also called for efforts to foster long-term peace and toward a two-state solution.
Germany’s response to the Hamas attacks and the ensuing war has been driven by guilt over its own dark past and the slaughter of 6 million Jews by the Nazis during the Holocaust.
Despite their differences, Anwar insisted there was “trust” between Malaysia and Germany on the issue of the Israel-Hamas war and they agreed on some aspects, such as pushing for a two-state solution.
Hamas’ October 7 attacks resulted in the deaths of 1,160 people, mostly civilians, in southern Israel, an Agence France-Presse (AFP) count based on Israeli official figures showed.
The militants also took about 250 hostages, dozens of whom were released during a weeklong truce in November. Israel believes 99 hostages still in Gaza remain alive and 31 have died.
Israel’s retaliatory bombardment and ground offensive has so far killed 31,112 Palestinians, mostly women and children, Gaza’s Hamas-run Health Ministry has said.