YOUTH and Sports Minister Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman today described Israel's attempt to play victim as pathetic and despicable.

This follows Israel's condemnation on Malaysia's stand of prohibiting Israeli athletes from competing in international sporting events it hosts.

Below is his full statement:

A RESPONSE TO ISRAEL’S CONDEMNATION OF MALAYSIA FOR PROHIBITING ISRAELI ATHLETES FROM COMING TO MALAYSIA

Israel is indisputably the biggest hypocrite in their condemnation of Malaysia. Their attempt to play the “victim card” is pathetic and despicable.

Hypocrite Israel condemns Malaysia for allegedly “Politicising sports”.

Has Hypocrite Israel forgotten the banned placed by them on Gaza’s Ittihad Al-Shejaiya football team from crossing into the West Bank to play the final match of the Palestine football cup?

Isn’t that politicising Sports?

Has Hypocrite Israel forgotten how they illegally control which Palestinian athletes can leave their homeland for training or tournaments?

Isn’t that politicising Sports?

Has Hypocrite Israel forgotten how they illegally appointed themselves as the “guardians” of Palestine by deciding who can and cannot play against Palestinian athletes in their very own country?

Isn’t that politicising Sports?

Heck, has Hypocrite Israel forgotten how they pressured the US National Basketball Association (NBA) to preclude Palestine from its list in 2018? Sadly, NBA bowed down to the despicable Sports Minister of Israel.

Where was the self-righteous, victim-playing, Hypocrite Israel then?

As the Minister of Youth & Sports of Malaysia, I stand firm with Malaysia’s decision.

Malaysia should not be a complicit to a brutal and inhumane regime. Our Palestinian brothers and sisters have been murdered in cold blood and those who live, imprisoned for life in the open air prison, tightly controlled by the Israeli regime.

While Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have condemned Israeli aggression and war crimes, Hypocrite Israel still tries to play the victim-card towards the international community.

Where was the humanity when Mohammed Tamim had half his skull crushed by Israel’s rubber bullet, while the regime brushed it off as an injury from falling off a bicycle?

Where was the humanity when the legless, wheel chaired Ibrahim Abu Thuraya was murdered by the Israeli regime while being on the other side of the fence?

Where was the humanity when more than a 100 peaceful protestors were murdered while thousands more injured for protesting against the invasion of their home, Palestine?

If South Africa can be banned from the Olympics for its Apartheid regime,
Malaysia as a sovereign country has the right to ban the murderous, state-sponsored, War Criminal, apartheid Israeli regime from coming to peace-loving Malaysia.

I stand with my Palestinian brothers and sisters, not Hypocrite Israel.