LETTERS: On this day Monday the 30th of March, we commemorate the annual Land Day in Palestine – the commemorating of the 1976 massacre of a protest against the dispossession of Palestinians by the Zionist regime. The carnage happened 42 years ago.
The Israeli government's expropriation of thousands of dunums of Palestinian land was faced with strong resistance from the Palestinians and culminated into a deadly attack by Israeli troops.
The resistance was against colonisation. It is a clear right for the Palestinians to rise up collectively against the theft and overall settler colonial policies. The world needs to be reminded of the demonstrations, aggression and violence by the israel occupation forces.
We express our strong support to the Palestinian people to resist the domination of space by the Zionist settler-colonial project. The project is to squeeze the Palestinians into as small area as possible to de-populate them from their land.
We see clearly the end game of the constant process of colonising more and more indigenous land and the colonisation and appropriation of land from the Palestinians.
The inaction of the world community on the establishment of Israel and now the accelerating expansion of Israeli Jews settlement on Palestinian lands is regrettable.
More land are now expropriated at an astonishing speed. The intended Israeli political move on the Greater Jerusalem Bill, through postponed, cannot be ignored.
The illegal Israeli government would annex illegal settlements in the West Bank and exclude Palestinian neighbourhood. So is the Sovereignty Bill, would extend Israeli law to the settlements in the West Bank.
These are motions in the Knesset of Israel that have capitalised on the Trump administration's brazen disregard for human rights and international law. Trump dismissed all international consensus with regards to Jerusalem and Palestine in general.
There is no sign of Israel halting Jews settlement building in the West Bank. With the settlement, thousands of Palestinians are displaced and the theft of their land continues. The aim is to shrink the space in which Palestinians exist.
We are extremely upset with the failure of the international community to implement the mechanisms that could prevent the colonisation of the West Bank and destruction of Gaza.
We demand that Israel be sanctioned and full support rendered to Palestinian attempts to take Israel to the International Criminal Court. In the face of the US backing of Israel, we call the world to unite against the apartheid regime of Israeli.
The West Bank is now an archipelago of non-sovereign Palestinian areas, with all Palestinians facing a system of apartheid. We salute and register our solidarity with the Palestinians who have continued their struggle.
Their resistance from grassroot initiatives like the "protest communities" and the "Great Return March" demonstrates their strong struggle and resilience. We stand united with the steadfastness and determination of the Palestinians to reclaim their right to their land.
We urge all NGOs and human rights activist to launch more creative and resilient ways to support further resistance movement against the Israeli land theft. We call on the world to mark this important date not only as an opportunity to mark a past event, but also to mobilize effective campaigns to resist Israeli occupation.
Israel must be held responsible and account for its war crimes and theft of land. We reiterate our demand to call for the:
1. Sanction of Israel until it withdraws from the territories occupied in 1967;
2. End apartheid regime within Israel; and
3. Comply with the internationally recognised right of return for the Palestinian refugees.
MOHD AZMI ABDUL HAMID
President
Malaysian Consultative Council of Islamic Organizations
DATUK SERI SYEIKH AHMAD AWANG
Chair Alliance of World Mosque In Defence of Al Aqsa.
DATUK WIRA ABDUL GHANI SAMSUDIN
Chair Secretariate Ulama Assembly of Asia
DATUK SERI SAIFUDDIN NASUTION ISMAIL
Board of Trustee Palestine Cultural Organization Malaysia (PCOM),
Member of Parliament Malaysia,
Former minister of Malaysia
MOHIDEEN ABDUL KADER
Director Citizens International
DR SYARIF ABU SHAMMALAH
Director
Al Quds Foundation Malaysia
SYED SYEKH AL ATTAS
President SEJAGAT Malaysia
AGUS SUDARMAJI
Chairman
Al Aqsa Working Group Indonesia
DR WISOOT BIN LATEH
President
Council for Humanitarian Networking of the Sheikhul Islam Office Thailand
JAMAL ABDUL NASIR
Chair, Justice and Development Association, Cambodia
DR AHED ABUALATTA
Chairman of the Association of Palestine Scholars Abroad in Southeast Asia