DR Mahathir Mohamad today expresses his anger and sadness over the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh.

The former prime minister says he is fortunate and proud to have made Haniyeh’s acquaintance.

“I am sad because Haniyeh, a good and courageous man who spent his entire adult life fighting for the liberation of Palestine, is killed.

“I am angry because the Western world, which can make a difference, chooses to keep quiet and instead side with the Israelis in committing their acts of terror and conducting genocide on Palestinians,” he says in a statement.

Hamas states that Haniyeh is killed in “a treacherous Zionist raid on his residence in Tehran”.

Mahathir says that Haniyeh is a soft-spoken man, with the heart of a lion, and his unrelenting quest in fighting for the liberation of Palestine against Israel’s occupation is indeed something every freedom fighter should emulate.

“He is an impressive man whose courage to stand up for his people obviously stems from a clear conscience and is guided by a moral compass based on humanity and religious conviction.

“Palestinians and the rest of the conscientious world have lost a great man, a leader and a liberator.

“It is because of this, Israel, the rogue, genocidal nation had sought to eliminate Haniyeh because they feared and hated everything he stood for.”

He says that Haniyeh stands as a reminder of what a pariah state Israel is, and that all those who support the Zionist regime are themselves hypocrites and the actual terrorists.

“The assassination proves just that. Israel’s extra-judicial murders of Palestinian freedom fighters demonstrate how arrogant, ruthless, and dastardly the regime is.

“And yet, the Western media and some of their leaders continue to condemn Hamas and Haniyeh as terrorists, when there stood, right before their very eyes, Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israel Defence Forces and the illegal Jewish settlers — who for decades have been committing acts of terror on Palestinians.”

Mahathir says that they may assassinate and kill Haniyeh but his struggle will not die as the Palestinians will not allow his demise to be in vain.

“They may kill Haniyeh but not his ideas and what he stood for.

“To the family of Haniyeh, please accept my deepest condolences for your loss of such a remarkable man.

“To Hamas and the people of Palestine, you have lost a great leader, a man of courage and conviction.” – 1st August 2024.