US summons Malaysian envoy over Israeli policy | Political Affairs

Malaysia has no relations with Israel and is based on the Palestinian cause.

The US Department of State has summoned Malaysia’s ambassador to the United States over his country’s long-standing stance on Israel, state news agency Bernama said.

Malaysian Foreign Minister Mohamad Hasan said on Thursday night that Ambassador Muhammad Shahrul Ikram Yaakob told the US State Department that Malaysia’s policy of not recognizing Israel was unusual.

“It has always been Malaysia’s policy. Our immigration policy does not accept the Israeli government or the Zionist government. This has been our position for a long time,” Bernama quoted Hasan as saying.

“There was a person with dual citizenship, US and Israel, who entered Malaysia using his US passport. However, subsequent checks showed that he was also an Israeli citizen, and we asked him to leave.”

Malaysia has no relations with Israel and has emphasized its support for the Palestinian cause and against Israel’s actions in Gaza and the occupied West Bank.

But this came after Network School, a “digital nomad” group founded in the country by US investor Balaji Srinivasan, was criticized when social media users said it included participants from Israel.

An investigation by the Network School followed, and when the Malay authorities discovered that all the participants had valid travel documents, the school was closed on Tuesday.

Later, eight members of the US Congress sent a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio expressing outrage over Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s plan to follow Israeli citizens into the country and immediately deport them.

However, on Wednesday, Ibrahim said that Malaysia will continue to ban Israeli citizens from entering the country despite objections raised by members of the US Congress.

Anwar added that Malaysia was guided by its commitment to protect the rights of the Palestinian people and oppose the “oppression, brutality and continued killing” of Palestinians in Gaza, Bernama reported.

“This will not stop us. They may issue threats, but I will strongly defend the rights of Malaysians and follow the government’s decision to continue to ban Israeli citizens from entering Malaysia,” he added.

US congressmen urged the State Department to review economic and security ties with Kuala Lumpur.

They requested that funding for the International Military Education and Training program, which provides US-based technical training to Malaysian soldiers, be terminated unless the decision is reversed within 15 days.