US summons Malaysia envoy over Israel policy

The US Department of State has summoned Malaysia’s ambassador to the United States over his country’s longstanding policy on Israel, state news agency Bernama reported.

Malaysia’s Foreign Minister Mohamad Hasan said on Thursday night that Ambassador Muhammad Shahrul Ikram Yaakob told the US State Department that Malaysia’s policy on not recognising the state of Israel was not new.

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“It has always been Malaysia’s policy. Our immigration policy does not recognise the State of Israel or the Zionist regime. This has long been our position,” Bernama cited Hasan as saying.

“There was an individual with dual citizenship, the US and Israel, who entered Malaysia using his US passport. However, subsequent checks revealed that he also held Israeli citizenship, and we asked him to leave.”

Malaysia does not have any diplomatic ties with Israel and has emphasised its support for the Palestinian cause and against Israeli actions in Gaza and the occupied West Bank.

But the incident was triggered after the Network School, a “digital nomad” community founded in the country by US investor Balaji Srinivasan, came under fire when social media users claimed it included participants from Israel.

A probe into Network School followed, and while Malay authorities found that all participants had valid travel documents, the school was still shut down on Tuesday.

Later, eight US congressmen sent a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio expressing outrage over Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s plan to track any Israeli citizens in the country and immediately deport them.

However, on Wednesday, Ibrahim reiterated that Malaysia would continue to bar Israeli citizens from entering the country despite objections raised by the members of the US Congress.

Anwar added that Malaysia was guided by its commitment to defending the rights of the Palestinian people and opposing the “oppression, aggression and continued killing” of Palestinians in Gaza, Bernama reported.

“That will not deter us. They may issue threats, but I will firmly defend the rights of the Malaysian people and uphold the government’s decision to continue prohibiting the entry of any Israeli national into Malaysia,” he added.

The US congressmen urged the State Department to review economic and security ties with Kuala Lumpur.

They called for funding to the International Military Education and Training programme, which provides professional US training for Malaysian military personnel, to be cut off unless the decision is reversed within 15 days.