KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 16 — The Malaysian Parliamentary Caucus on Palestine today called on countries pursuing the normalisation of relations with Israel to cease such action in view of the ongoing Israeli atrocities against the Palestinian people.

Its chairman, Syed Ibrahim Syed Noh, also urged Malaysia to continue with its "aggressive diplomacy against Israel and condemn the actions of the Zionist regime as apartheid”.

Saudi Arabia is reported to have put on hold its plans to normalise ties with Israel in view of the latest developments.

Israel currently has official diplomatic ties with five Arab countries: Egypt, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Morocco.

Syed Ibrahim’s call comes in the wake of a war that erupted on Oct 7 between Israel and Hamas, the governing authority in the Israeli-occupied Palestinian territory of Gaza.

Syed Ibrahim also called for the speeding up of humanitarian aid to the Palestinians in Gaza, saying it must be ensured that the assistance reaches the people of Gaza and not others.

"I believe this is within the government’s consideration, but we request that this matter is thoroughly examined and monitored,” he told a news conference at the Parliament lobby.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said last Friday that the government would provide RM10 million in aid to Palestinians and expressed the hope that government-linked companies, government-linked investment companies, and the private sector would contribute to raising the aid amount to RM100 million. — Bernama