THE United Nations (UN) must be authorised to mediate a ceasefire in Palestine and to manage the safe and orderly evacuation of any refugees on their terms, said Wong Chen.
The Parliamentary Special Select Committee (PSSC) on International Relations and Trade chairman said the committee condemned all atrocities committed by Israel and urged for the immediate cessation of hostilities in Palestine.
“We are thankful for the re-opening of the Rafah-Gaza borders and hope that this development will encourage better regional cooperation towards peace,” said Wong, who is also the Subang MP.
“In accordance with the Fourth Geneva Convention on protecting civilians, we condemn, in particular, the action of Israel in cutting off basic supplies such as water, electricity, and gas to the people of Gaza.
“These actions are tantamount to war crimes,” he said in a press conference in the Parliament media room yesterday.
Also present at the press conference were Howard Lee Chuan How (PH-Ipoh Timur), Wan Ahmad Fayhsal Wan Ahmad Kamal (PN-Machang), Aminolhuda Hassan (PH-Sri Gading) and Datuk Suhaimi Abdullah (PN-Langkawi).
When asked if there were efforts to bring Palestinian refugees to Malaysia, Wong said a discussion would be brought to the Foreign Ministry.
“We have open-standing support for Palestinians; if you go around Kuala Lumpur, you can see there are Palestinians, and some even marry locals and have children who are Malaysian citizens, so we will continue that, especially in this time of crisis,” he said.
“But the most important thing now is to get the refugees across to Egypt so that they are safe.
“Thankfully, the Rafah exit is now open, so I think we can send a team there (to consider vetting candidates for relocation) beyond the humanitarian mission so we can bring some to Malaysia,” he added.
Wong added that the PSSC also acknowledged that Hamas was democratically elected by the people of Gaza and therefore was the territory’s legitimate authority.
“We support the Malaysian government’s position and its efforts in holding talks with Hamas and other parties to find a peaceful resolution to this severe conflict,” he said.
