PUTRAJAYA, Jan 6 — Malaysia’s participation in the proposed Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF) 2.0 mission will involve a more inclusive group comprising volunteers across various categories to ensure efforts to breach Israel’s naval blockade of Gaza can be carried out effectively, said Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Religious Affairs) Dr Zulkifli Hasan.
Zulkifli said planning for the mission is underway and will be announced in the near future, as the GSF mission requires a comprehensive, well-organised and effective strategy to ensure its success.
“Today I met with GSF. Our discussion touched on their experience in organising the previous GSF and how they are planning to break the siege in Gaza.
“Alhamdulillah, they are now also planning GSF (2.0), which will be a larger mission, involving more participants, more boats and, as they informed me earlier, they want more inclusive participation encompassing various religions, races, celebrities and different segments of society,” he said.
Zulkifli was speaking to reporters after receiving a courtesy call from two international activists, Saif Abu Kesek and Kleoniki Alexopoulou, as well as the chief executive officer of Cinta Gaza Malaysia, Nadhir al-Nuri, at his office here today.
He said Malaysia will continue to provide full support for the organisation of the next GSF mission and hopes its objectives will be achieved to ensure that all forms of humanitarian aid can be delivered to the people of Gaza.
“We (Malaysia) are examining what form of cooperation we can undertake. In general, the Prime Minister (Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim) has given his full support to this mission,” he said.
Zulkifli said the GSF mission is not merely aimed at breaking the Israeli blockade, but also at conveying an important message to the world that what is happening in Gaza requires serious attention from the entire international community.
“The global community needs to witness the reality in Gaza, including injustice, war crimes and actions of a genocidal nature. This message must be conveyed to the international community,” he said.
He added that the mission also aims to deliver humanitarian aid and deploy experts such as doctors, medical specialists and teachers to assist and support efforts to rebuild Gaza.
In September last year, GSF brought hundreds of international activists, including 34 volunteers from Malaysia, along with humanitarian aid to breach the Israeli naval blockade and show support for the people of Gaza.
However, on Oct 1, about 41 vessels involved in the mission were intercepted by the Zionist regime before the activists were detained at Ketziot Prison in Israel and subsequently deported to their respective countries. — Bernama
