Malaysia’s Mahathir: ‘They may kill Haniyeh but not his ideas’
Kuala Lumpur (Quds News Network)- Malaysia’s former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad has issued a statement mourning Hamas top leader Ismail Haniyeh’s assassination, saying Israel had killed the “great man” because it “feared and hated everything he stood for”.
Mahathir, who served as Malaysia’s premier for 24 years between 1981 and 2020, described Haniyeh as “a soft-spoken man, yet with the heart of a lion”.
“His courage to stand up for his people obviously stemmed from a clear conscience and guided by a moral compass that is based on humanity and religious conviction,” Mahathir said.
“They may kill Mr Haniyeh but not his ideas and what he stood for,” he said.
Hamas and Iran have accused Israel of being responsible for the attack on Haniyeh’s residence in Tehran, although Israel has not claimed responsibility, yet.
The Palestinian group Hamas confirmed on Wednesday morning the assassination of the head of its political bureau Ismail Haniyeh in a “treacherous Zionist raid on his residence.”
Haniyeh had traveled to Tehran to attend Tuesday’s inauguration of Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian. This visit marked Haniyeh’s final public appearance.
Iranian media reported that Haniyeh was killed by an “airborne guided projectile” that hit the residence where he was staying in the north of the capital Tehran at about 2am local time (22:30 GMT on Tuesday) at a special residence for military veterans.
