Malaysian former PM: U.S. support for Israel unlikely to change

Special report: Palestine-IsraelConflicts

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan. 5 (Chinese media) -- President-elect of the United States

Barack Obama is not expected to change his country's stand of supporting Israel,

Malaysian former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad said Monday.

A major power like U.S. needed Israel to support certain policies which the

former implemented and turning away from the regime would mean losing the

much-anticipated support, he said at a news conference called to condemn

Israel's ongoing brutality against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, in Putrajaya,

the administrative center of Malaysia.

"Although the United States' Congress consists of learned individuals, it

condones terrorism. We see Israel as having no restriction and Israel actually

rules the world through its proxies because no U.S. presidential candidate,

including Barack Obama, is bold enough to state that the United States does not

support Israel," the former prime minister said.

"In fact, Obama's right-hand man (vice president-elect) Joseph Biden has

openly declared that he is a Zionist. So, you can imagine Obama's foreign policy

in the future," he said.

The whole world has to unite to state its opposition to the stand of U.S.

which did not want to budge from its support for Israel despite condemnation by

all quarters, Mahathir said.

It was difficult to undermine the position of U.S. as a major power and, as

such, the unity of all quarters was most necessary to shake its support for

Israel's atrocities, Mahathir said.

Israel had to be blamed for invading Gaza but U.S. and Britain should also

be held responsible for their undivided support of the regime, he

said.