MALAYSIA STANDS WITH PALESTINE RALLY DRAWS STRONG SUPPORT FROM PEOPLE OF VARIOUS RACES, BACKGROUND

KUALA LUMPUR,  Oct 24  (Bernama) -- Malaysia's loud, strong and consistent stance in condemning the atrocities of the Zionist regime of Israel against the Palestinians continues to be raised at various levels, this time through the 'white ocean' wave at the Malaysia Stands with Palestine Rally here tonight.

More than 16,000 Malaysians of various backgrounds, races and religions flocked to the Axiata Arena, in Bukit Jalil here in a show solidarity for the Palestinian people.

Despite the rain, participants, clad in white shirts and donning muffler with the Palestinian motif started gathering at the stadium grounds since 5 pm, although they could only enter the stadium at 6.30 pm.

The programme started with the congregational Maghrib prayer, followed by the “hajat” prayer to pray for the well-being of the people of Palestine, followed by a series of speeches on the history and development of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict by leaders of non-governmental organisations (NGOs).

The crowd also waved the Palestinian flag, chanted takbir and words like "Long live Palestine" and "Free Palestine".

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim who had just returned from an official trip to meet leaders of several Arab countries to discuss the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, also did not miss the opportunity to be with the the people to voice Malaysia's firm stance on the issue.            

During the meeting with leaders of Islamic nations like Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Turkiye, the Prime Minister seemed to release his anger and dissatisfaction with Israel's actions, which he said was already at the level of 'madness'.             

"It is insane to allow people to be butchered, babies to be killed, hospitals to be bombed, and schools to be destroyed, this are acts of barbarism," he said, referring to Israel's brutal action against the Palestinian people which also resulted in death of women and children.             

Since attending the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) last September, to his working trip to Saudi Arabia to attend the first ASEAN-Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Summit last week, Anwar has been consistently fighting for the issue.      

He said the international community must wake up and see the stark hypocrisy through situations unfolding in Gaza             

Several Palestinians met at the gathering expressed their appreciation for the solid support of the Malaysian people for Palestine.

One of them is a religious teacher at the Jasmine Ash-sham School, Widad Halayqa, 42, who has been residing in Malaysia for about 14 years.

She said her parents are still safe but there are members of her family who were killed and injured due to the brutal actions of the Zionist regime.

"My husband returned to Palestine two weeks ago because his mother is sick. He was stranded in Jordan for a few hours before crossing to Palestine due to the war," she said through an interpreter, Hasrol Sazli Abdul Khail.

Another Palestinian, Sabrein Hazza Zayed Aby Jazar (she), 32, who lost 15 members of her family in the war, hoped for support and prayers from Malaysians to defeat the Israeli forces.

 "My uncles and cousins  are already being bombed by Israel on the first day of the war. All eight hospitals there had also been destroyed. There is no food and electricity supply for the Palestinians as they block everything. I really hope for miracles from Allah to help our land, Palestine," she said.

The gathering organised by Angkatan Belia Malaysia (ABIM), Global Peace Malaysia (GPM) and Malaysian Humanitarian Aid And Relief (MAHAR) as the main organisers also involved more than 40 non-governmental organisations.

-- BERNAMA