Palestinian problem is not small or easy to resolve and it will continue to be unresolved unless all parties recognise rights of Israel. The same goes to Israel and its allies namely the USA – they need to recognise the rights of the Palestinian people. Infographic Source: https://mondoweiss.net
Back in December 2019, Malaysia hosted a meet-up of the Muslims under an event called KL Summit 2019. It is argued as failed miserably:-
Saudi was apparently upset that Malaysia tried to replace OIC as the ultimate platform to discuss Muslim issues. After a lengthy lecture by King Salman, who decided to boycott the KL Summit, the outspoken Mahathir humbly told the monarch that Malaysia was too small to take over the Saudi’s position as the leader of the Muslim world.
The biggest humiliation to Mahathir, however, was the cancellation from neighbouring Indonesia. President “Jokowi” Joko Widodo, already refused to attend the KL Summit, was supposed to send his deputy – Vice President Ma’ruf Amin – to Kuala Lumpur on his behalf. But even the deputy skipped the summit, claiming too exhausted to travel.
From the beginning, the Kuala Lumpur gathering cannot claim to be representative of the wider Muslim world. The four nations make up just a fraction of the 57 states represented at the OIC. There was not a single African or Arab state apart from Qatar. But if the summit cannot speak on behalf of 1.8 billion Muslims, could Mahathir proclaim it as a success?
(Source)
So it was interesting to note that recently in February 2020, Malaysia hosted the Third Conference of the League of Parliamentarians for Al-Quds in Kuala Lumpur.
Some 500 backbenchers including speakers from various parts of the world will converge here to attend the 3rd Annual Conference of the League of Parliamentarians For Al-Quds (LP4Q) which will deliberate, among others, on the need to support the Palestinian cause and defend their legitimate rights.
He said Malaysia has been given the privilege to host the conference for the first time after the last two conferences held at Istanbul in Turkey in 2016 and 2018, and that the invitation has been extended to UMNO and PAS MPs to attend the conference.
(Source)
Not sure how much taxpayer’s money was spent on this event and whether this conference met its objectives. Certainly, the key players in the Palestinian cause were not invited – namely representatives from Israel & the US.
So what is the point of discussing the cause and making recommendations without them? Will it make any dent in the Palestinian cause at the end of the day? Is it considered as another failure at the end of the day? It is apparent that 500 parliamentarians meet up to discuss but at the end of the day, the plight of the Palestinians remains unchanged.
Forcing Israel to make larger, conflict-ending concessions would require making its fallback option so unappealing that it would view a peace agreement as an escape from something worse.
That demands more leverage than the Palestinians have so far possessed, while those who do have sufficient power have not been eager to use it. Since Oslo, in fact, the US has done quite the reverse, working to maintain the low cost of Israel’s fallback option.
Successive US administrations have financed the Palestinian government, trained its resistance-crushing security forces, pressured the PLO not to confront Israel in international institutions, vetoed UN Security Council resolutions that were not to Israel’s liking, shielded Israel’s arsenal from calls for a nuclear-free Middle East, ensured Israel’s military superiority over all of its neighbours, provided the country with more than $3bn in military aid each year, and exercised its influence to defend Israel from criticism.
No less importantly, the United States has consistently sheltered Israel from accountability for its policies in the West Bank by putting up a facade of opposition to settlements that in practice is a bulwark against more significant pressure to dismantle them.
(Source)
And here’s something interesting – after picking up fight with India, Dr M seem to have picked up another diplomatic row, this time with the USA by calling President Trump to resign:-
Speaking to reporters at the Third Conference of the League of Parliamentarians for Al-Quds, here, today, Dr Mahathir was asked if he had any advice for Trump.
To this, the prime minister replied: “Resign.”
(Source)
By the way, who is the League of Parliamentarians for Al-Quds?
With political and financial backing from the current Turkish government, Al-Ahmar has not only been sponsoring Islamist networks globally but also helping president Erdoğan groom and radicalize Turkish youth.
With the backing of the Islamist government in Turkey, Al-Ahmar is also leading another organization called the League of Parliamentarians for Al-Quds, which is based in Istanbul’s Bahçelievler district.
It is one of many tools at the disposal of Erdoğan, who manipulates and exploits the sensitive Palestinian issue for his own political goals. The group brings various Arab and Turkish politicians together under this umbrella and serves as a tool for Erdoğan to influence Arab politics.
(Source)
This comes from an NGO that aims to:-
….to raise awareness on radical and violent extremist trends in Europe and beyond, with a specific focus on patterns that may very well disturb and disrupt social peace, harmony and community integration.
It hopes to contribute to the debate on how nations should prevent and combat radicalization with close cooperation and collaboration between all relevant stakeholders at all levels of governance including the NGO community and civil society…
(Source)
Malaysia needs to be mindful with whom we are working to resolve global issues and any resolutions made needs to be effective. We do not want to be, in the end, used by others who may have other personal agenda. Otherwise, we are just wasting money and time to make noises that will not be heard by others.
The solution at the end of the day obviously lies with Israel & the US but we don’t have any formal relationship with Israel and with the US, we tell them that their President needs to resign. We are not improving the situation. To be an effective global player and one that is entrusted to assist to settle any conflicts, we need to have a good relations with all countries (irrespective of religion or race). And certainly we ourselves need to ensure we are doing things right without bias and selective & double standards. If we don’t do this, then we are not in the right position to advise others.