Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim strongly condemned Israel's actions that prevented the Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF) from continuing its humanitarian aid mission to Gaza.
Anwar stressed that the ships were carrying unarmed civilians and vital humanitarian supplies for Gaza, but were still facing intimidation and coercion from the Israeli military.
He also stated that Israel's actions to block the humanitarian mission reflected the arrogance of the Zionist regime and its disregard for the rights of the Palestinian people and the conscience of universal humanity.
The Prime Minister stressed Malaysia's consistent stance of standing firmly with the Palestinians in demanding justice and the fundamental rights of their people.
Malaysia will also use all legal and constitutional channels to ensure that Israel is held accountable, especially in cases involving Malaysians.
So far, 12 Malaysians including artist Zizi Kirana have been reported to have been illegally detained after their ship was intercepted in international waters.
Among those detained were Haikal Abdullah, Muaz Zainal, Zulfadhli Khairudin, Rusydi Ramli, Iylia Balqis, Ahmad Musa Nuwayri, Sul Aidil, Heliza Helmi and Hazwani Helmi and most recently Farah Lee and Danish Nazram.
Video footage from the Israeli Foreign Ministry, confirmed by Reuters, also showed Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg, among those detained.
Several GSF ships with more than 500 passengers from 40 civilian boats were brought into Israeli ports, halting the mission to deliver medicine and food to Gaza.
