KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia today reiterated its long-held position that the creation of an independent Palestinian state through the two-state system is the only viable solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
In a statement today, Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein said Malaysia, which has no diplomatic relations with Israel, views the two-state solution – based on pre-1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as the capital of Palestine – as the only solution to the conflict.
"Malaysia's position on the issue of Palestine has always been consistent, where we have always rejected the illegal and unilateral action of Israel to implement its plan to annex parts of the Occupied Palestinian Territory in the West Bank."
He said Malaysia will continue to support concrete and genuine efforts towards achieving this just and lasting solution, through negotiations involving the parties concerned, based on international laws and relevant United Nations resolutions.
Hishammuddin's statement came after a joint statement issued by the United States, Israel and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Thursday, which announced the normalisation of relations between Israel and the UAE.
Commenting directly on the development, Hishammuddin said: "With regard to the Joint Statement by the United States, Israel and the United Arab Emirates issued on Aug 13, 2020, we view the normalisation of relations with Israel as the sovereign right of the United Arab Emirates."
On Thursday, United States President Donald Trump announced that Israel and the UAE had reached an agreement to establish diplomatic ties, on condition that Israel suspend its controversial plans to annex parts of the occupied West Bank.
The UAE is the third Arab nation to establish active diplomatic ties with the Jewish state after Jordan and Egypt.