SUBANG: A total of 127 Palestinian citizens, including 41 injured as a result of Israeli attacks at the Gaza Strip, safely arrived in Malaysia.
The Palestinians were flown in two Royal Malaysia Air Force (RMAF) A400M aircraft from Cairo, Egypt, and arrived at the Subang Air Force base between 2pm and 2.30pm on Friday (Aug 16).
Defence Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin said the mission to bring the Palestinians to Malaysia was made on a humanitarian basis and to show solidarity towards Palestinians and the nation's stand to combat inhumane acts or genocide.
"After they were checked and verified to be Palestinians and airworthy, we identified 41 patients, consisting of 20 men and 21 women aged between eight months and 62 years old, who would receive medical treatment here.
"A total of 86 family members were also brought to Malaysia as most of the patients were children and the elderly.
"The total number of Palestinians transported to Malaysia is 127," he told reporters.
Mohamed Khaled said the two aircraft took 13 hours to travel from Egypt to Malaysia, with a transit in Karachi.
"All 41 patients underwent diagnosis at a field hospital at the Subang Airforce base before being transported to Tuanku Mizan Armed Forces Hospital in Wangsa Maju for further treatment.
"A total of three wards will be used at the hospital to treat the injured patients.
"We (the Malaysian government) have planned this mission for quite some time, but we need the approval of the Egyptian government and have also considered various alternatives.
"Six countries have expressed their intentions to bring injured Palestinians to their respective counties, and Malaysia is the fifth country to successfully do so," he said.
Palestinian Ambassador to Malaysia Walid Abu Ali said he did not have enough words to thank the Malaysian government for hosting injured Palestinians.
"Malaysia is the first Asian country to host (injured Palestinians). Words are not enough to express my gratitude towards Malaysia.
"Thank you to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim when he announced that the country will host injured Palestinians," he said.
Egypt's Ambassador to Malaysia, Ragai Nasr, said the success of the mission is a culmination of the relationship between the Malaysian Prime Minister and the Egyptian president.
"As ambassador, both the government and myself will support Malaysia in assisting Palestine," he said.
It was reported that the two RMAF aircraft were deployed to the Almaza Air Force Base in Egypt to transport injured Palestinians to Malaysia for medical treatment.
On Aug 4, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim condemned the cruelty and atrocities of the Israeli regime against Palestinians and said that Malaysia would allow vulnerable Palestinians, namely the wounded, women and children, to seek refuge here.
“We will continue to provide humanitarian aid and support. We do not care about what the Western world expects from us and attempt to decide which nation we should have ties with or not,” said the Prime Minister at the Free Palestine gathering.
