DEPUTY FM CONDEMNS ISRAELI RAIDS ON GAZA

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 30 (Bernama) -- Deputy Foreign Minister Abdul Rahim Bakri on Monday condemned Israel's air raids on the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip over the last three days which has resulted in the deaths of about 300 Palestinians.

He said Israel's action was tantamount to genocide and should be given
serious attention by the international community, particularly the major powers
which were strong supporters of Israel.

"The United Nations should adopt a firm stand and restore the peace process
by according the rights of the Palestinian people as contained in the commitment
of the Annapolis Conference and the road map," he said, adding that the Israeli
offensive was the latest challenge to the United States' foreign policy under
incoming president Barack Obama.

The Annapolis accord is an agreement reached between Palestine President
Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert in Annapolis, Maryland, in
the United States on November 27 last year in an effort to establish peace
between Palestine and Israel.

Abdul Rahim said the fundamental rights of the Palestinian people should be
restored and the international community should take the matter seriously as the
issue of Palestine was an issue of crime against mankind and an act of state
terrorism.
-- BERNAMA