By Ida Nadirah Ibrahim
KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 19 — Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has slammed the US administration’s position on viewing the Israeli settlements in West Bank as not illegal.
In a statement today, Dr Mahathir said no nation is safe from being encroached by another country, as building settlements on other people’s land is not viewed as illegal.
“We are no longer safe. If a country wants to enter our country and build their settlements, that is legal. We cannot do anything,” Dr Mahathir was quoted in the statement.
He said the decision was an absurdity which amounts to legalising land grabs by neighbours of the Palestinian territory.
He added that US’ position was a blatant disregard of international laws and various United Nations resolutions.
“The move by the Trump administration had drawn international outrage as the reversal departed from a State Department 1978 legal opinion that the settlements were inconsistent with international laws,” the statement read.
Dr Mahathir said the timing of the announcement by Trump’s administration would give more encouragement to the Israeli forces, who he said were already “on a vicious killing spree on Gaza”.
“You announce that their illegal settlements are not illegal at a time when they are conducting these unjustified attacks on Gaza…
“Isn’t it like encouraging them to continue to murder the children and civilians and that they will not be punished?
“Instead they will be rewarded with setting up settlements on the land of the people they had killed and murdered,” he said in the statement.
Earlier, it was reported that the US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had on Monday announced that Israeli settlements in the West Bank would no longer be viewed as illegal.
According to reports, Pompeo said the US administration will no longer abide by the State Department’s 1978 legal opinion which deemed the Israeli settlements as “inconsistent with international law.”
