Nik Aziz reaffirms stand on Israel's illegality, flays 'hypocrites'
| Harakahdaily, | 21 February 2012 |
Feb 21: PAS Murshidul Am Tuan Guru Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat reiterated the party’s stand not to recognise Israel as a legitimate state, following a meeting with PKR de-facto leader Anwar Ibrahim to explain the latter's controversial statement committing support for Israel's security.
“Regardless of our differences with others, PAS is firm on its stance (not to recognise Israel),” he said in a short statement on his Facebook page.
Anwar (right) stressing a point to Nik Aziz and Tuan Ibrahim (left)
The Kelantan Menteri Besar slammed the hypocrisy of those who fanned the controversy to accuse others of being pro-Zionists, when they had been endorsing trade ties with the Israeli regime by allowing Israeli ships to dock at the country's ports.
Earlier, several groups said they would gather at West Port in Port Klang tomorrow to protest the arrival of yet another Israeli cargo ship.
Directing his attack on UMNO leaders who had been accusing Anwar of supporting Israel, Nik Aziz said:
“They are just like roosters who proudly flap their wing without realising their backs are tainted with their own droppings,” said Nik Aziz.
Anwar, in an interview with the Wall Street Journal last month, was quoted as saying that he "support all efforts to protect the security of the state of Israel", but was mum on whether he would recognise the Zionist state.
Faced with intense criticism, Anwar later clarified that his statement was "conditional", and reflected the Malaysian government's support to the 'two-state solution', a plan endorsed by Arab regimes but viewed with suspicion by most Palestinians.
Several other PKR leaders had also rushed to defend the statement, by arguing that protecting Israel's security fulfils the two-state plan, and claimed that such a solution had also been endorsed by Hamas, which won elections in the Occupied Territories.
This was followed by Nik Aziz's statement urging Anwar to either retract the statement or sue the paper if he was misquoted.
Anwar's meeting today with Nik Aziz, accompanied by PAS information chief Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man, was to clear the air and present his view on the Middle East conflict.
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