International Community Must Take Legal Action Against Israel - Ahmad Zahid

From Siti Nurhana Shafirah Mat Nazir

ISTANBUL, Nov 7 (Bernama) -- The international community must take legal action against Israel to stop its brutal military operations in Gaza, the West Bank, southern Lebanon and Syria, said Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.

He said pressure on Israel should not be confined to proposed resolutions but must be translated into more concrete action to ensure that it respects and complies with previously agreed ceasefire agreements.

“Although there has been a change in leadership in Israel following the recent elections, we have observed that its policies (on the ceasefire) may not change.

“The involvement of the international community is crucial in increasing pressure on Israel, including through legal action and other measures, especially among countries neighbouring Israel,” he said here today.

He told this to the Malaysian media after a roundtable discussion with the Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research (SETA) here.

The eight-member SETA delegation was led by its Chief Coordinator Prof Nebi Mis; SETA Foreign Policy Research director Prof Murat Yesiltas and Publications director Ebrar Uzumcu.

Earlier, Ahmad Zahid said that during the discussion, he touched on UMNO’s plans to establish research cooperation with SETA through the Abdullah Badawi Research Institute (ABRI), which is currently in the planning stage, to strengthen knowledge-sharing between Malaysia and Türkiye.

He said the cooperation could potentially involve the exchange of research materials produced by both institutions, including SETA, which also collaborates with Malaysia’s Institute of Strategic and International Studies (ISIS).

Ahmad Zahid, who is also Minister of Rural and Regional Development, hoped that the sharing of expertise and research findings would benefit both countries, especially in understanding geopolitical and socioeconomic developments at regional and global levels.

SETA is an independent, non-profit think tank that conducts research on political, economic and social issues in Türkiye and globally, covering areas such as foreign policy, security, economy, society, energy and technology.

The discussion was one of the engagements during Ahmad Zahid’s four-day visit to Türkiye from Nov 5-8, in conjunction with the TRT World Forum 2026 at the Istanbul Congress Centre (ICC), which began yesterday and runs for two days.

-- BERNAMA