KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia has strongly urged all parties in the Middle East to take immediate steps to de-escalate the rising tensions that are destabilising the region.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said that Israel's continued aggression and attacks in Lebanon, Syria, and Yemen were deliberate attempts to divert global attention from its atrocities against Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank.
"This escalation is plainly aimed at keeping Israel's current political leaders in power and out of prison, sacrificing innocent lives at the altar of one man's political career.
"We must urgently prevent a dangerous cycle of action and reaction, which threatens to draw even more parties into the conflict, further deepening instability and broadening the scale of destruction.
"Malaysia urges all concerned parties to take immediate action to reduce hostilities and establish conditions necessary to prevent a broader regional conflict from erupting," he said in a statement posted on his social media accounts today.
Yesterday, Malaysia's Foreign Ministry, through the embassy in Beirut, took steps to evacuate 15 Malaysians and three foreign spouses from Lebanon due to the deteriorating security situation.
The ministry said that nine Malaysians had already left the country voluntarily, while four others have decided to remain.