Malaysia condemns Israeli fatal attacks on Palestinians

By Adem Salvarcioglu

ANKARA (AA) - Malaysia on Monday termed Israel's deadly attack on defenseless Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip “totally uncalled for and unacceptable”.

In a statement, the Foreign Ministry “called upon the international community to act swiftly and decisively to avoid further loss of Palestinian lives”.

“Malaysia condemns in the strongest terms Israel’s aggression towards the Palestinians involved in the peaceful Great Return March, which took place on March 30, 2018.”

Tens of thousands of demonstrators on Friday converged on the Gaza Strip's roughly 45-kilometer-long (28-mile) eastern border with Israel to demand their right to return to their ancestral homes in Palestine.

Ahead of the mass demonstrations, Israel deployed thousands of troops along the border. Dubbed the "Great March of Return", the protests also intended to pressure Israel to lift its more than decade-long blockade of Gaza.

The attacks by Israeli forces left 18 Palestinians martyred and nearly 1,500 injured.

The rallies on Friday were endorsed by virtually all Palestinian political factions, which repeatedly stressed the event’s peaceful nature.

Land Day is an annual Palestinian commemoration of six Arab Israeli citizens killed by Israeli forces in 1976, during demonstrations against government land confiscations in northern Israel.

Malaysian condemnation joins a growing list of nations who have spoken out against the Israeli attacks, including the U.K., Germany and Italy.