KUALA LUMPUR – Everyone is allowed to take to the streets to show their solidarity with Palestinians regardless of political affiliations, said Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi (Bagan Datuk-BN).
“I want to recommend that we have the hashtag #solidarityforpalestine.
“Insya-Allah, this Friday, we don’t need any political party or organisations to take to the streets to show our solidarity with Palestinians. Together, we all take to the streets to show our solidarity,” he said during Dewan Rakyat sitting today.
He added that the government will immediately channel RM1 million to the Humanitarian Trust Fund for the People of Palestine to aid affected Palestinians during the ongoing clashes between Israeli forces and Palestinian fighters in and around the Gaza Strip.
“The Foreign Affairs Ministry, who handles (the fund’s) bank account, agreed to channel RM1 million immediately starting tomorrow. This is the Malaysian government’s immediate action.”
Earlier, Mohd Sany Hamzan (Hulu Langat-PH) accepted an invitation from PAS to participate in the party’s gathering as a show of support in solidarity with Palestine this Friday, pending Zahid’s approval.
“I will be there, if the deputy prime minister permits me to attend, Insya-Allah,” he said to laughter across the lower house.
Budget 2024 is also scheduled to be tabled by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, who is also finance minister, in the Dewan Rakyat on Friday at 4pm.
This morning, PAS called on its members and supporters to take to the streets to show solidarity with the Palestinian people on Friday after congregational prayers.
The surge in violence followed a surprise attack by Hamas last Saturday, involving dozens of fighters infiltrating an Israeli city near the coastal enclave amid intense rocket fire. The aim of its Operation Al-Aqsa Flood is to put an end to Israeli “violations”.
In turn, the Israeli army initiated Operation Swords of Iron against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, which Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said we are “at war”.
Palestine’s Health Ministry said the death toll from the Israeli bombings in the Gaza Strip has risen to 413, including 78 children and 41 women.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reported that more than 123,000 Palestinians have been forced to flee their homes in the Gaza Strip as the Palestinian-Israeli conflict escalates. – October 9, 2023