KUALA LUMPUR: Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has welcomed the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) move to investigate the alleged war crimes committed by Israel towards Palestine.
The prime minister said the move was long overdue as Israel should be tried at the criminal court for killing people, stealing other nation’s territories and building settlement in lands belonging to others.
“All these are crimes. If that happens (the investigation), that is a good result of our meeting. It is long overdue," he said at a press conference following the Kuala Lumpur Summit 2019 which concluded at KL Convention Centre here today.
On Friday, ICC chief prosecutor Fatou Bensouda said she would launch a full investigation into alleged war crimes in the Palestinian Territories as a preliminary examination opened in 2015 had unearthed sufficient evidence to do so.
Dr Mahathir said when Malaysia tried to send aid to Gaza, they were stopped and attacked.
“Our ships were detained, including ships coming from Turkey, they were not allowed to go and deliver aid to Gaza.
“This was done in international waters. They cannot do those things in international waters. If we invade their national waters, yes, they can take action, but we were in international waters.
“They came with gunboats, stopped and towed our ships to their ports. Until now we don’t know whether the aid that was intended for Gaza was delivered or not. In the process, nine people were killed. This is a criminal act, but the world closed their eyes on this,” he said.
In 2010, Israeli troops detained a boat carrying humanitarian aid which included a delegation from Malaysia. The incident occurred in international waters and it had forcibly diverted the vessel to the Israeli port of Ashdod.