UMNO Youth has called on the government to withdraw its invitation to U.S. President Donald Trump if all activists and volunteers from the Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF), currently detained by Israel, are not released immediately.
Its chief, Datuk Dr. Muhamad Akmal Saleh, said UMNO Youth is also prepared to organize a large-scale rally to protest Trump’s presence during his visit to Malaysia for the upcoming 47th ASEAN Summit in Kuala Lumpur this month.
“If all GSF activists and volunteers, especially Malaysians, are not freed, we demand the government cancel Trump’s invitation to Malaysia. Otherwise, UMNO Youth nationwide will take to the streets in massive protest directly against Trump during his visit to Kuala Lumpur. Hurting them (GSF volunteers) is the same as hurting all of us Malaysians. Free the GSF activists,” he said in a statement posted on social media today.
According to reports, 12 ships participating in the GSF humanitarian mission were intercepted by Israeli forces in the Mediterranean Sea at around 2:51 a.m. local time. As a result, 11 Malaysian activists and volunteers taking part in the aid mission were confirmed to have been detained.
In response to the situation, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim urged for the immediate release of all Malaysian and international activists and volunteers, stressing that the mission was purely a humanitarian effort carried out by civilians without weapons, aimed at delivering much-needed aid to the people of Gaza.
