Ex-prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad who is currently warded at the National Heart Institute (IJN) for medical observation seemed to have sent out an impassioned plea to the world.
In a recent Facebook post the former Umno president has again pleaded to the international community to help halt the senseless massacre of the Palestinians and to ensure that peacekeeping forces are sent to Gaza to protect those trapped in the ongoing genocide there.
Dr Mahathir, who celebrated his 99th birthday earlier this month also insisted that the world must hold Israel accountable for their evil and barbarity and be punished for it, adding that the Jewish state does not respect international opinion or laws.
The former “statesman” then went on to slam the west particularly the United States (US) and European countries who have openly supported wars, genocide and injustice; he further claimed that they now provide arms and funds and have “vetoed” any attempts to end wars and genocide.
Oddly, he also mentioned that the only ones who are against the breakdown of moral and civilizational values are the young people, who according to him have risen in protest and have even defied their own governments as they demand an end to the genocide in Gaza.
Dr Mahathir then alleged that the Israeli leader Netanyahu plans to conquer Gaza and annex it to Israel, adding that he also wants to invade the West Bank, Lebanon and Syria; to achieve this, according to him, he has to wipe out the Palestinians!
While the two-time prime-minister may be spot on with some of his observations, the crisis in the Middle East is far too complex; so much so, a long list of intricate negotiations brokered by several peace-loving nations in the past 60 years have all failed.
Truth be told, the Israeli government and its army are no angels and as Dr Mahathir may have rightly pointed out, for 70 years they have been building illegal settlements on Palestinian territory, killed thousands of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank and have been guilty of a long list of atrocities; but as the world knows, there is more to the whole crisis there than meets the eye - with perhaps, “tit for tat” being the name of the game!
While Dr Mahathir has sent out a fervent plea to the international community to “stop the massacre there in the name of humanity and the sanctity of human lives”, is the Palestinian tragedy the only one that is horrific enough to warrant his (and the world’s) attention?
In the not too distant past, millions of lives were also lost in the hands of despots and wicked regimes; amongst them, the killings in Cambodia by Pol Pot and the genocide of Tamilians in Sri Lanka where the degree of cruelty may have been on par with the ongoing brutal massacre in Gaza; but did the “caring” world out there show their solidarity with those who were butchered there? Were there protests in the streets of the major cities in the world? Where was Dr Mahathir and many of us when the victims there screamed for help?
Dr Mahathir also “declared” in his Facebook post that “from the river to the sea, Palestine shall be free”; but won’t some interpret that as calling for the annihilation of the current Jewish state? Will that really solve the problem… or lead to more bloodshed in the Middle East?
By the way, isn't the ex-PM aware that Hamas is still keeping hundreds of prisoners from the disastrous October 7 attack and this has given the Israel Defence Forces an “excuse” to encroach deeper into Gaza to continue the carnage; now, couldn't the exchange of prisoners be used as a trump card to force Israel to scale down or pause the killings? Isn’t it strange then that Dr Mahathir did not seem to raise this option in trying to bring about a truce that will surely save thousands of innocent Palestinian lives?
Furthermore, the nonagenarian also hailed the demonstrations in the west by the younger generation protesting the massacre in Gaza; but surely the highly learned ex-prime minister should know that they may actually be championing universal human rights which may also include the rights of the LGBTQ communities - and not just the rights of the oppressed Palestinians.
Finally, calling it his “two-pronged” strategy, he has called on the people to “up the ante” by pressuring the international community to be responsible for the genocide in Gaza and to put an end to it; while on the domestic front he has urged for the continued boycott of corporations supporting Israel.
While Dr Mahathir’s call for justice for the oppressed Palestinians and his passionate pleas to end the genocide is laudable, will his simple two-pronged approach be enough to see peace returning to the war-ravaged Gaza - where the crisis is steeped in decades of enmity and will require the warring parties to “swallow their pride” and make concessions?
Information Source: Facebook Dr Mahathir Mohamad
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