PETALING JAYA: The assassination of former Palestinian prime minister Ismail Haniyeh is a heinous murder that is aimed at stalling ongoing truce talks in the Gaza conflict that has persisted since October last year, says Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

Anwar strongly condemned the murder of Haniyeh, who was also Hamas political bureau chairman.

“This was a murder of the most heinous kind, plainly designed to derail ongoing talks aimed at ending the carnage in Gaza that has claimed over 40,000 lives.

“It is patently clear that this could only have been carried out in an environment of utter impunity.

“Only the heedless and unconscionable will not see the need to intensify pressure on Israel to stop their murderous rampage,” he posted on Facebook yesterday.

Anwar said he is deeply concerned about how the assassination of Haniyeh affects Palestinians, who have already been subjected to decades of pain, hardship and suffering.

“Detractors who criticised me for meeting Haniyeh in the past fail to appreciate his profound desire for a peaceful Middle East and a Palestinian nation restored to its rightful dignity.

“I mourn the loss of a dear friend and a valiant advocate for his people. Al-Fatihah,” he added.

Yesterday, Hamas said in a statement that Israel attacked Haniyeh’s residence in Teheran, Iran, while he was attending the inauguration of the new Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Tuesday.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said Haniyeh and one of his bodyguards were ambushed in their place of residence in a “Zionist raid”.

Media reports said the Hamas leader was killed when an “airborne guided projectile” struck a special residence for military veterans that Haniyeh was staying in, in the north of Teheran at about 2am.

In a phone call between Anwar and senior Hamas official Dr Basem Naim, the Prime Minister expressed shock over the “madness of the Zionist regime in attacking people in their places of residence”.

In a post on his social media of his telephone conversation with Dr Basem, Anwar quoted Dr Basem as saying that despite reeling from grief over Haniyeh’s death, it is still important to fight for the freedom of Palestinians.

“This is a message to all Muslims and Arabs that anyone fighting for freedom is their target. That is why we must unite,” said Dr Basem.

Anwar told Dr Basem that Malaysia remains firm in its support for an independent Palestine, while expressing anger over the international community’s failure to stand up for justice and peace.

“The late Haniyeh was the pillar of this struggle, and one of his struggles was a peace deal to return the rights of Palestinians.

“Clearly, there are sabotage elements here. They don’t want this peace deal to succeed,” said Anwar.

Also present in Teheran was Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Johari Abdul as Malaysia’s representative to the presidential inauguration ceremony.

Yesterday, Wisma Putra said Johari and other members of the Malaysian delegation in Teheran are safe.

Haniyeh’s assassination was condemned by global leaders, including Turkiye President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who said that the episode will not break Palestinians. Iran Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei promised “harsh punishment” for Israel.

Meanwhile, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) has demanded an apology and explanation from Meta Platforms Inc to explain the removal of an Instagram post related to Anwar’s meeting with Hamas leaders in Doha, Qatar, in May.

According to the Media and Strategic Communications Department under the PMO, the removal of the post from Instagram reflects discrimination against Palestinians and their leaders.

“We will demand an apology on this matter, and we urge Meta Platforms to apologise,” said the PMO in a statement yesterday.

In several screenshots shared by the PMO, it said the July 30 post was removed by Instagram, which said it allegedly contained symbols, praises or support of people and organisations defined by Instagram as “dangerous”.

In the July 30 post, the PMO highlighted Anwar’s meeting with Hamas leaders in May, where he met Haniyah.

In May, Facebook also removed several posts related to media reports of Anwar’s publicly announced meeting with Haniyeh in Qatar.

In October last year, Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil warned that stern action could be taken against Meta and TikTok if they were found to be blocking pro-Palestinian content on their platforms.

https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2024/08/01/anwar-condemns-israeli-hit-job