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Abbas condemns Malaysian PM's visit to Gaza

February 17, 2014 at 1:50 am

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has condemned the visit to the Gaza Strip by Malaysia’s Prime Minister. Mohammad Najib spent several hours in Gaza on Tuesday for what he described as a “humanitarian mission”. According to Abbas, however, the visit did not serve Palestinian interests, violated Palestinian representation protocols and reinforced the Palestinian division. His office has demanded clarification from the Malaysian government.


“The Malaysian Prime Minister called President Mahmoud Abbas and informed him that he would send humanitarian aid materials to Gaza and the West Bank, and that he would meet with a Palestinian delegation in Cairo,” said a statement from Ramallah. “This raises question marks and surprise at the visit, which contributes to a conspiracy to divide the Palestinian homeland and serves the plots that aim to keep Jerusalem isolated from the Palestinian state, the legitimacy of which was recognised by the entire world on 29 November, 2012.”

The President’s statement was published by the official Palestinian news agency. It called on “all friends and brothers to contribute to embody the UN resolutions for establishing a unified Palestinian state with Al Quds Al Sharif [Jerusalem] as its capital.”

Speaking at a press conference with Prime Minister Najib, the head of the Palestinian government in Gaza, Ismail Haniyeh, predicted that the Israeli election will lead to a more extremist government in Tel Aviv. The Palestinian Prime Minister called on all Palestinians, Arabs and Muslims to build a unified strategy to confront what he called “Zionist extremism”.