According to the Israeli Ynet news website, on July 15 local time, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar announced that Israeli citizens found within Malaysia will be deported immediately.
The trigger for this incident came from a rumor spread on social media: there is a digital nomadic community called “Online School” in the forest city area of Johor, southern Malaysia. This project was founded by a former executive of the cryptocurrency platform Coinbase. Many rumors claim that some of the participants in the project have Israeli dual citizenship and deliberately used non-Israeli passports to enter Malaysia.
In this regard, Anwar emphasized that the government will not compromise on issues such as national security and Malaysia’s diplomatic stance towards Israel. “If the rumors are true, the individuals involved will be expelled immediately. The relevant departments have already launched an investigation into this matter.”
Anwar reiterated that Malaysia has always pursued a policy of not recognizing Israel. There has never been any diplomatic relations between the two countries, and therefore Israeli citizens are not allowed to reside in Malaysia. “As long as there are Israeli citizens within our territory, given that our country does not recognize Israel, these people will be immediately expelled.”
Local media reports that the Malaysian Immigration and Security Department has officially initiated an investigation. Immigration officials conducted a raid in the community, checking the documents of 266 foreign citizens from 40 different countries, to verify their eligibility to enter the country and their true identities.
Malaysia is considered one of the countries in the Muslim world with the most strong stance towards Israel. Even if Israelis hold dual citizenship, they will be expelled if they transit through Malaysia. The country has long been supportive of Palestine on the international stage. After a new round of Palestinian-Israeli conflict erupted, Malaysia increased its criticism of Israel.
Additionally, Anwar has always been known for his harsh anti-Israel statements. He has publicly supported Hamas and repeatedly accused Israel of committing war crimes and genocide.
