Senior Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh (L) greets Prime Minister Najib Razak during Najib's visit in Gaza City in January 22, 2013KUALA LUMPUR: The office of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Tuesday criticized the visit by Datuk Seri Najib Razak to the Gaza Strip, Palestinian Authority media reported.
Quoting a report by Palestine News Agency, Wafa, Abbas' office said in a statement that Najib’s visit to the Hamas-run enclave harmed the legitimate representative of the Palestinian people and enhanced division.
“This visit also serves plans to keep Jerusalem segregated from the state of Palestine which the whole world recognized on Nov 29, 2012," the president’s office said.
The Malaysian prime minister had reportedly telephoned Abbas and said he would ship humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, and would meet the president in Cairo, the statement added.
Najib Razak (R) and Hamas government Prime Minister Ismail Haneya (left, arm outstretched) during their visit January 22, 2013 to Haneya's office that was destroyed during the eight-day clash between Hamas and Israel in NovemberNajib arrived in Gaza Tuesday via the Rafah crossing, accompanied by his wife Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor, and was welcomed by a Hamas delegation led by Gaza premier Ismail Haniyeh.
In a Press conference, Najib praised the Palestinian people for enduring Israel's oppression and urging Palestinian factions to unite.
“We believe in the struggle of the Palestinian people. They have been suppressed and oppressed for so long," Najib told reporters as he was greeted by officials from Gaza's Hamas government.
"We may be far from you in distance, but we are one nation and believe in the struggle of the Palestinian people," he added.
Meanwhile, Haniyeh thanked the government and Malaysians for their support for the Palestinian people.
Najib Razak hugs the son of Hamas military commander Ahmed Al-Jaabari, who was killed in an Israeli air strike during his visit to Al-Jaabari family in Gaza Strip, January 22, 2013.Najib, who is the first Malaysian Prime Minister to visit the occupied territories, also visited a Gaza university and government offices, as well as the family of top Hamas military chief Ahmed al-Jaabari, whose assassination by Israel in November started an eight-day war in which more than 160 Palestinians and six Israelis died.
He also opened several projects in Gaza and laid a foundation stone for the Gaza government's cabinet building, which was destroyed during Israel's November assault.
The trip is part of Najib's three-day working trip to Cairo, Egypt, as well as Gaza in neighboring Palestine.
Travelling by land from El Arish International Airport in Egypt near the Gaza border, Najib and Rosmah went to the border crossing at Rafah and entered a holding room while waiting to have their passports to be processed.
Soon after, they entered the Gaza side and were met by Haniyeh where the Malaysian delegation was then accorded an official welcoming ceremony before heading to Gaza city.
Najib is currently attending a four-day World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, and is expecting more than 10 courtesy calls on foreign leaders, one-on-one meetings with business chieftains, as well as bilateral meetings.
- Agencies
