KUALA LUMPUR – An article accusing Malaysian leaders of breeding anti-Semitism to maintain political dominance has re-emerged amid potential security threats posed by Israel against those supporting the armed Palestinian struggle worldwide.
The article posted on the Israel Defence newsletter noted a “clear process of Islamic radicalisation” that has been underway from the 1970s onwards.
The piece, written by Israeli academician Shaul Shay, a former Israeli Defence Force (IDF) military intelligence officer, also noted that support for Palestine in Malaysia gained momentum especially during Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s first tenure as prime minister.
This was in tandem with an effort to strengthen the economic, political, and public status of Muslims here, Shay claimed.
He argued that the Palestinian issue and subsequent anti-Semitic atmosphere had played a “dominant role in that radicalisation, which helps to explain the close relations between Malaysia and Hamas”.
The resurfacing of the article comes hot on the heels of the latest escalation of violence between the IDF and the military wing of the Palestinian Hamas group, which has so far seen more than 200 people, mostly Palestinians, killed as a result of bombardments from both sides in under a week.
Dated May 1, 2018, the article also came in light of the murder of 35-year-old Palestinian professor Dr Fadi Mohammad al-Batsh.
Security beefed up for locals, Palestinians
The Malaysian Home Ministry said it has ramped up security against potential threats by Israel against leaders of the Palestinian struggle worldwide, including in Malaysia.
According to Bernama yesterday, Home Minister Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin said police and other security agencies had beefed up all aspects of security to maintain public order and the safety of Malaysians, including Palestinians living in the country.
Hamzah said authorities would take note of the existence of organisations in the country that supported the Palestinian people’s struggle.
“The ministry urges the public to remain calm as the country’s security situation is under control,” he was quoted as saying.
“The government of Malaysia again emphasises its stand to continue to support the aspirations and struggles of the Palestinian people.”
Hamzah’s statement was made after the IDF was reported to have given the green light for its members to target Hamas operatives at “all” levels, both within and without Gaza.
The matter was pointed out by United States-based Foundation for Defence of Democracies research vice-president Jonathan Schanzer on Twitter.
Channel 13 reporting that IDF has given a green light to targeting *all* Hamas operatives at *all* levels, both inside Gaza and out. Obviously implications for Iran, Turkey, Qatar, Malaysia, etc.
— Jonathan Schanzer (@JSchanzer) May 15, 2021
Schanzer said that this “obviously” carried implications for countries sympathetic to the Palestinian cause such as Iran, Turkey, Qatar, and Malaysia.
‘Military training in Malaysia’
In the article, Shay highlighted that Fadi was reportedly killed by operatives of Israeli spy agency Mossad in Gombak on April 21, 2018 while he was walking to a local mosque to perform his subuh prayers.
Citing a New York Times article, Shay pointed out that Fadi was sent to Malaysia to research and acquire weapon systems and drones for Hamas.
The Palestinian was also said to have likely been involved in negotiating North Korean arms deals through Malaysia.
Malaysia not only donated generously to Hamas, but also permitted the training of Hamas militants in the country,” Shay said in the article.
“Malaysia not only donated generously to Hamas, but also permitted the training of Hamas militants in the country,” Shay said in the article.
“Interrogated Hamas operatives revealed that members of a Hamas cell trained in Malaysia intended to carry out a cross-border attack using a powered parachute.”
Shay also noted that Malaysia had a consistent anti-Israeli and pro-Palestinian foreign policy and that it was the only country in the world whose citizens’ passports denied them entry into Israel.
“Malaysia, Turkey, and Qatar were the main supporters of Hamas in its war against Israel in July-August 2014. Malaysia is a strategic ally of the United States in the war against terrorism (like Turkey and Qatar), but it publicly supports Hamas, a designated terrorist organisation,” Shay wrote.
“In contradiction to Malaysian anti-Israeli foreign policy, official data published by the Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics tells of booming, yet very discreet, trade relations between the two countries,” he added.
Broader perspective on conflict
Weighing in on the issue, Malaysian defence observer Martin A. Sebastian said Malaysia should not discount the possibility of assassinations such as the one involving Fadi being carried out by any local hitman here.
“We don’t even know if the killing (of Fadi) was done by those from the Mossad. If money is put on the table you can be a ‘tali barut’ (stooge) for anyone,” he told The Vibes when contacted.
“To have (Israeli) operatives in Malaysia is not cheap and to target a sovereign country like Malaysia is difficult.”
Sebastian spent three years at the United Nations’ headquarters in New York as a peacekeeping planning team leader with the Peacekeeping Operations Department from 2008 to 2011. He is familiar with the issues in the Middle East and the proxies that support conflicts in the region.
He suggested Malaysians must also explore the broader perspective on the conflict.
“In general, there’s no differentiation of political groups like Hamas and Fatah,” he said.
He stressed that Hamas is perceived as not agreeing to a two-state solution and is bent on the destruction of Israel, while Fatah is the opposite.
“A main problem is that the organisation’s sole foundation is to seek the destruction of another nation (Israel). If we want to talk about Palestine, we must also include the West Bank, which is run by Fatah, and not just Hamas in Gaza.”
Many in Gaza cross to work in Israel.
Sebastian said with the current escalation, Hamas may have been lured into launching full-blown missile attacks on Israel, as the latter could “test” the Iron Dome and its other defence systems to discover the level of sophistication from the arsenal fired by Hamas.
He said the attacks also gave the IDF the chance to destroy tunnels used by Hamas.
Joining the clarion call to protect civilians in the conflict, Sebastian said that donations collected must be for the Palestinian cause in general.
“When there is enough transparency in the collection and distribution, Malaysians as a whole will donate willingly. Therefore, more scrutiny is required on this effort to bring development to Gaza.”
He also noted that Fatah, unlike Hamas, was more inclined to living peacefully and looked to develop its economy such as the promotion of religious tourism.
"Hamas has yet to achieve reasonable development while Fatah has brought tourism into the West Bank and run hotels, souvenir shops, and restaurants peacefully.
“They even spoke fluent Malay with me when I was there as many Indonesian pilgrims frequent the West Bank,” he added. – The Vibes, May 17, 2021
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