As US President Donald Trump continues to hail the peace plan to end the Israel-Gaza conflict, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has urged caution, saying he was not invited to the ceasefire signing ceremony in Egypt due to his concerns over the deal’s details and its durability.
On Monday, Israel began releasing nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners during the first phase of the deal, while Hamas militants released 20 surviving Israeli hostages kidnapped during its assault on southern Israel on October 7, 2023.
The raid by the Palestinian group sparked the bloody two-year war, which has killed nearly 70,000 Palestinians, with the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry describing Israel’s actions in Gaza as constituting a “genocide”.
Trump, who last week presented a 20-point plan to end the war, along with the leaders of Egypt, Qatar and Turkey, signed off on the first phase of the deal at a peace summit hosted by Egypt in the Sharm el-Sheikh seaside resort. It was witnessed by leaders from over 20 nations, including Indonesia’s President Prabowo Subianto – the only Asean leader in attendance.
Malaysia – one of the staunchest defenders of the Palestinian cause within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations – was not on the guest list. Anwar said this was because Malaysia had not given its full support for Trump’s peace plan, unlike the other nations invited to the summit.
“Malaysia was not included because we gave conditional support,” Anwar told parliament on Tuesday.
