Malaysian PM slams West’s hypocrisy over Israel’s ‘murderous rampage’

Anwar Ibrahim points to double standards that condemn Russia’s military operation in Ukraine but don’t support a ceasefire in Gaza

Malaysia’s Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has accused Western leaders of selectively applying international law when they condemn Russia’s military operation in Ukraine but don’t stand up for a ceasefire in the Israel-Gaza war.

Addressing the Australian National University in Canberra on Thursday, Anwar said that, for six decades, the West has given “carte blanche” to Israel to continue its “murderous rampage on the Palestinians.”

“Unfortunately, the gut-wrenching tragedy that continues to unfold in the Gaza Strip has laid bare the self-serving nature of much valued, the much-vaunted rules-based order,” the PM argued.

The differing and inconsistent responses by the West towards the Russia-Ukraine and Israel-Gaza conflicts “defied reasoning,” he stressed. It was a “fool’s errand” to believe that other countries, including in the Indo-Pacific, would not notice inconsistencies in the application of international law.

Anwar has also urged Australia to restore funding for the United Nations aid agency UNRWA in Gaza.

Australia, Canada, Germany, the US, the UK, Japan, the Netherlands and other nations suspended funding to UNRWA earlier this year after the agency launched an investigation into allegations that 12 staff members had participated in the October 7 Hamas attacks on Israel. 

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The Gaza conflict escalated on October 7 after Palestinian militant group Hamas launched a surprise cross-border attack on Israel, killing some 1,200 people and kidnapping around 250. In response, Israel launched massive airstrikes and a ground operation in the Palestinian enclave. More than 30,000 people have been killed in the onslaught, according to the Gazan health ministry, and the UN has warned of an unprecedented humanitarian crisis, with dire shortages of food and medicine.

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