PETALING JAYA: The assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh is expected to cause a delay in the ceasefire negotiations between Israel and Hamas, says geopolitical expert Dr Azmi Hassan.
He said a delay may be inevitable because Hamas, under the leadership of Haniyeh, had agreed to a three-phase deal, brokered by Egypt and Qatar, for a ceasefire in Gaza.
“Without Haniyeh, there is a possibility that Hamas will become more radical.
“Peace was previously achievable under Haniyeh. But right now, it is in limbo,” he added.
Azmi said Malaysia should seek a special session at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) to ask member nations to condemn Haniyeh’s assassination.
The special session can be called by any single UN member, but it must have the majority support of the 193 member-states, he added.
“I think the majority of other members will support it. The United States can’t veto UNGA. It is one vote per member.
“Maybe Malaysia can start by garnering support via the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) or the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) first.
“Malaysia can do something by calling for an UNGA special session to stop the madness of state-sponsored assassination,” he added.
Azmi also said it was perplexing that there were very few details regarding the circumstances of Haniyeh’s assassination.
News reports quoting Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said Haniyeh, who had earlier attended the inauguration of the new Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian on Tuesday, was ambushed in their place of residence.
“Further investigations are underway that will be announced soon,” it said.
Prof James Chin from the Asia Institute at the University of Tasmania said the attack was not surprising because Israel had made clear its plans to wipe out the Hamas leadership in October last year.
Chin also said Malaysians’ anger towards Israel will also increase, while Haniyeh’s death will be personally felt by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, who had been friends with the Hamas leader for many years.
Principal adviser to the Pacific Research Centre of Malaysia, Dr Oh Ei Sun, said tensions in the Middle East have been an ongoing issue and are likely to persist following the assassination.
“The UN has been intervening in the Middle East since its inception. It has been of tremendous help in humanitarian work there, but its peace efforts have been mostly futile,” he said.
Security analyst Dr Ahmad El-Muhammady said the assassination was significant because it took place in Iran and is set to give political mileage to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who is facing dwindling public support at home.
He added that the ongoing truce talks between Israel and Hamas will certainly be stalled, as Haniyeh was one of the leaders involved in the negotiations.
