![Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Bin Mohamad [Twitter]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Mahathir-bin-Mohamad-KOKO-TV-NG-2.jpg?fit=612%2C414&ssl=1)
During a visit to Pakistan on Friday, Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad described Israel as a “state of robbers”, the Safa news agency reported.
“We are not against Jews but we cannot recognize Israel because of [its] occupation of Palestinian land,” Mahathir said during a three-day visit to Pakistan.
He stressed that his country enjoys friendly relations with every country in the world except Israel. “You cannot seize others’ lands and form a state. It is like a state of robbers,” he said.
Mohamad’s remark came one day after US President Donald Trump’s decision to recognise Israel’s sovereignty over the occupied Syrian Golan Heights, which were followed by Israeli calls for similar recognition of its annexation of the occupied West Bank.
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