Kuala lumpur: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has welcomed the joint statement issued on September 8 by the foreign ministers of 12 Western countries regarding measures against illegal Israeli settlements. He emphasized that these steps signify a necessary change in the approach of several Western governments and stressed the importance of firm implementation.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, Anwar highlighted that these governments should leverage their significant diplomatic and economic influence over Israel to advocate for an end to settlement expansion and forced displacement, ensure accountability for the devastation in Gaza, and facilitate unimpeded humanitarian access. He shared these views in a Facebook post.

Anwar particularly noted that Britain, Canada, and France plan to introduce measures to ban trade in settlement goods, a step already taken by several European countries. He also pointed out the significant statement made by British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband to the House of Commons, where the UK formally recognized the unlawfulness of the Israeli occupation and acknowledged the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in certain West Bank areas by what Miliband termed 'settler terrorists.'

Anwar urged the international community to progress beyond statements and towards concrete and binding actions that uphold international law, protect Palestinian rights, and ensure a just and lasting peace in the Middle East. The foreign ministers of Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Iceland, Ireland, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, and the UK have confirmed their intention to introduce or consider national and European restrictions on trade with settlements deemed illegal under international law.