VIENTIANE: Malaysia will remain firm in voicing its position on Palestine, even though the West and Europe maintain their views in favour of Israel, said Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
The prime minister said the issue of Gaza and Palestine was much discussed at the Asean-United States Summit and the Asean-European Union Summit, as well as in bilateral meetings between Malaysia and the two.
Malaysia, he said, had pushed for the immediate cessation of violence against Palestinians.
"The views of the West, US and European nations, are the same, that (Hamas attacked) on Oct 7 (last year), Iran attacked, Hizbollah attacked... so that means that Israel did not attack anyone.
"Therefore, we must be firm in our stance. It is impossible for them not to understand and hear the voices of millions of young people and citizens rising in major cities (all around the world), stating that the violence (against Palestinians) has been occurring since 1948.
"We must continue to carry out this duty and voice the aspirations of the Palestinian people in all fairness," he said.
Anwar said this when speaking with Malaysian media after the close of the 44th and 45th Asean Summits and Related Sunits here.
The prime minister said that Malaysia had also emphasised that no nation should be exempt from censure if it breaks international law.
"We strongly condemn this cruelty (by Israel), and it is important for us to voice this firmly in front of all the countries present, including (in front of) US Secretary of State Antony Blinken," he said.