OIC nations should consider arms for Hezbollah: Malaysian minister

August 9, 2006 - 0:0
KUALA LUMPUR (AFP) - Malaysia's Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar said Tuesday Muslim nations should consider supplying arms to Hezbollah amid anger and frustration over Israel's offensive in Lebanon.

Malaysia currently chairs the 57-nation Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), and Syed Hamid said Israel could not be allowed to act with impunity although it seeemingly had "carte blanche" in its operations.

"Some are suggesting that we supply arms. Okay, we should look at all these things," Syed Hamid was quoted as saying by the state Bernama news agency.

"The governments (of OIC) countries should look and we must not allow Israel to do what it wants," he said, but added that Muslim countries had to act according to international norms and principles.

Malaysia last week hosted a meeting of Muslim nations from the OIC which demanded an immediate ceasefire in the Middle East and warned that boiling anger over the Israeli offensive could launch a new wave of terrorism.

Syed Hamid also criticized a United Nations draft resolution on ending the conflict which has been rejected by Lebanon because it does not call for the immediate withdrawal of Israeli forces from its territory.

"I think we must not look at Israel only. We must also look at what Lebanon wants. I think it is unfair, imbalanced and unjust to just look at what Israel wants," he said.

"The world should not be dictated just purely by Israeli desire but it must be incorporating justice and fairness in the international system," he said.