KUALA LUMPUR Aug 3 — The sole Malaysian volunteer Associate Professor Dr Mohd Afandi Salleh who was detained by Israeli soldiers while on a relief mission in Gaza, Palestine, is convinced that the July 29 incident would give more ideas to humanitarian activists on how to deal with the Israeli regime in future.
The Humanitarian Care Malaysia (MyCARE) activist said during the detention, he was able to think of ways to break the ‘wall’ of Israeli control over the waters of Gaza.
“I have been involved in relief missions to Gaza twice by road and once by sea and found that it is more tougher to do so by sea due to the tight control by the Israeli regime.
“After this incident, we will be able to improve on how to enter the waters of Gaza, thus ensuring the aid to Palestinians can be delivered,” he said to Bernama after appearing as a guest in the “Ala Carte Pagi” program produced by Bernama Radio here today.
On July 29, the 47-year-old Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Law and International Relations of Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin (UniSZA), along with 22 volunteers from 12 different countries were on board the Al-Awda flotilla carrying 116 boxes of medicines to Gaza, was captured by Israeli forces 49 nautical miles from the Gaza waters.
Mohd Afandi, who was detained for 36 hours in Givon Prison, said the treatment by the Israeli when he was in detention was “insincere”.
“They (the Israeli army) are not willing to face international pressure if they do something terrible to us. So they treat us ‘nicely’, but it is just a propaganda,” he said.
Despite various obstacles, Dr Mohd Afandi said it would not deter him from pursuing the Palestinian cause and called on Malaysians to keep helping the Palestinian people.
“We are among those concerned with the plight of the Palestinians issues, but it is done seasonally, like when they are attacked or during Ramadan,” he added. — Bernama
