PETALING JAYA: It is time that the World honours its promise to the Palestinians.
Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail said for over 70 years the Palestinian people have been denied their right to self-determination and subjected to Israeli occupation in their own land.
"Justice must be served and most certainly the lopsided 'Deal of the Century' which did not include Palestine's or Jerusalem's participation will not end the injustice.
"In the absence of firm action, the international community will soon lose legitimate grounds to further the rightful cause of the Palestinian people," she said.
Dr Wan Azizah said an one-sided peace proposal certainly does not serve any useful purpose to end the conflict.
"Malaysia has carefully studied the so-called ‘Deal of the Century’, as highlighted by Prime Minister Tun Mahathir Mohamed. Malaysia finds the proposal utterly unacceptable.
"The international community must act decisively on the creation of a Palestinian State. However, in realising this, the full and effective participation of conflicting parties are definitive prerequisites in ensuring progress to resolving conflicts," she said at the closing ceremony of the 3rd Annual Conference of the Leagues of Parliamentarians for Al-Quds.
Also present chairman of the League of Parliamentarians for Al-Quds, Sheikh Hamid Abdullah Al-Ahmar; Dewan Rakyat Soeaker Tan Sri Datuk Mohamad Ariff Md Yusof, Conference Organising Committee Advisor Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail, who is also the Domestic Trade and Consumers Affairs Minister and Deputy Rural and Regional Development Minister Sivarasa Rasiah.
Dr Wan Azizah said Israel could not be allowed to continue perpetuating its occupation of Palestinian land.
"While Malaysia remains supportive to any genuine effort made by any party aimed at achieving just and comprehensive peace to the Palestine-Israel conflict, Malaysia stands by its position that the creation of an independent State of Palestine is by way of a two-State solution and be based on pre-1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as the capital of Palestine.
"There is no alternative to a two-State solution without the agreement between the two States," she said, adding that she feared the current situation would further add fuel to the fire to the deteriorating situation in the region.
She said some of the most vocal critics of Israel were in fact the Jews themselves. They included scientist Albert Einstein, academic Noam Chomsky and writer Alfred Lilienthal, activists in the Women’s Boat for Gaza, Zohar Regev and Yudit Ilany who were Israelis themselves.
"I have personally met Zohar Regev, an Israeli who had been on the Boat for Gaza and was arrested by the Israeli authorities. We can see the Palestinian issue is not just a Palestinian or Arab cause but has become a cause that is championed and supported by people with a conscience.
"We also know of the organisation called Jews for Justice for Palestinians was established in the United Kingdom by the Jewish academic Irene Bruegel," she said, adding that Western celebrities were no exception.
She said among the international community which has openly expressed sympathy for the Palestinian cause were celebrities like Selena Gomez, Penelope Cruz, Morgan Freeman and Cristiano Ronaldo.
"I believe all this is going to create a snowball effect which will boost the effort to bring justice to Palestinians.
"There are many sensible people out there who can empathise and identify with this cause. We have to extend our networking and join forces with such organisations and individuals. Let’s work together," she said.
Dr Wan Azizah said it was important that the younger generations do not forget the calamities that have befallen the Palestinians.
"Many no longer remember the Deir Yassin massacre, the Qibya massacre, the King David Hotel bombing and the Sabra and Shatilla massacre.
"Perhaps it is time that we memorialise what happened to the Palestinians by establishing a museum of ‘An Nakba” (the 1948 Palestinian exodus)," she said, adding that a cause can lose its momentum when the younger generation has no understanding of why and how it started.
She said the museum could also educate public about tragedies during the Bosnian War, the Rwanda genocide, the Sook Ching massacres, the Rabaa massacre and other tragedies from the recent past.
"Injustice, violence and oppression have no place in modern civilisation. The present and future generations must be committed to making the world a better place. The museum of An Nakba can make us understand the dark side of human behaviour and the importance of not allowing such injustices to repeat itself in the future." she said.