Hakeem wants Sri Lanka to break diplomatic relations with Israel

(MENAFN – Colombo Gazette) tdi_2:not(.td-a-rec-no-translate){transform:translateZ(0)}.tdi_2 tdi_2 img{margin:0 auto 0 0}@media tdi_2{text-align:center }}

By Easwaran Rutnam

Rauff Hakeem, leader of the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress, has called on the Sri Lankan government to suspend diplomatic relations with Israel over the “genocide” in Palestine.

He told Parliament the government needed to take a bold stance on the issue, as did some other countries.

The MP said Sri Lanka must demand action against Israel at the International Criminal Court.

Hakeem also accused the Ranil Wickremesinghe government of becoming virtual “slaves” of the US.

The opposition lawmaker accused the Biden administration in the US of giving Israel bombs to destroy the entire Gaza Strip.

State Foreign Minister Tharaka Balasuriya responded and expressed regret over the MP’s attitude.

He said that although the MP may want to break off relations with Israel, Sri Lanka will do what is best for the country.

According to the United Nations, nearly 450,000 Palestinians have fled Rafah over the past week as Israeli tanks reportedly advance deeper into the southern Gaza city.

“People face constant exhaustion, hunger and fear,” warned the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, Unrwa.

The Israeli military said it was continuing its “operations against terrorist targets” in the east of the city, where more than a million people had sought refuge.

New Israeli operations in northern Gaza have displaced another 100,000 people.

The military ordered civilians to evacuate eastern Rafah and Jabalia for their own safety before beginning the attacks. However, the total number of people displaced in recent days represents almost a quarter of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents.

In response to the group’s cross-border attack on southern Israel on October 7, which killed about 1,200 people and took 252 others hostage, Israel launched a military campaign to destroy Hamas.

More than 35,170 people have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry. (Colombo Gazette)

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