KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia will only send its troops to Palestine for a peacekeeping mission if requested by the United Nations (UN).
Senior Minister (Security Cluster) Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob said Malaysia cannot send soldiers on such missions of its own accord, without an invitation from the UN.
"(Such peacekeeping missions) involve international law, and we cannot send Malaysian troops on our own. We cannot make a unilateral decision.
"If the UN requires our troops to be there, then we will send them, Insya Allah," he said during a press conference today.
Ismail Sabri, who is also defence minister, said Malaysia had previously sent its troops for peacekeeping missions under the UN in Lebanon, Sierra Leone, the Philippines, Sudan and Congo, among others.
Yesterday, Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei called for international intervention to tackle the ongoing Palestine-Israel conflict, urging for an emergency United Nations General Assembly session to be held to resolve the situation.
In a joint statement, the leaders of the three countries had said the emergency sitting was to address the "grave developments" in the area, and for member countries to come up with a "Uniting for Peace Resolution", to put an end to the atrocities carried out against the Palestinians.
The statement was signed by Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, Indonesian President Joko Widodo and Sultan of Brunei, Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah.