Speaking at the Arab and Islamic summit in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, today, Anwar said Israel had gone beyond reason and humanity in its perpetration of genocide against the Palestinian people.

He said Israel’s cumulative acts of violence left the international community with no choice but to demand swift and effective action, including embargo, suspension and even expulsion from the UN.

“The international community must act swiftly and forcefully. As an immediate measure, we must push, as Malaysia did at the UN General Assembly in September, to impose an immediate arms embargo against Israel.

“For the sake of not only the Palestinians but of humanity itself, we must punish and deter Israel’s repeated violations of international law and norms. We should, therefore, build a consensus towards suspending or even expelling Israel from the United Nations itself,” he said.

Anwar said Israel had struck at the international community’s lifeline for Palestinians by targeting the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees.

“Israel is causing the collapse of the world’s humanitarian response, cutting off the most basic means of survival in Gaza for those who have already lost so much. We must put an end to this continued senseless carnage and take immediate steps to furnish more effective protection for UNRWA,” he said.

“Similarly, we must accord better protection for the UN peacekeepers in Lebanon, comprising nearly 50 nations, including Malaysia, who have been attacked and terrorised by Israeli forces,” he said.

Last week, six Malaysian soldiers in the UN peacekeeping force were injured after a roadside explosion in Saida city, Lebanon, while en route to their camp.