00:00Dr. Mahathir Mohamad has paid tribute to slain Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh.
00:07Mahathir described Haniyeh as a soft-spoken but lion-hearted man who was unrelenting in
00:12his struggle to liberate Palestine.
00:15The two-time prime minister also said he was both lucky and proud to have met Haniyeh,
00:19whose courage to stand up for his people stemmed from a clear conscience and was guided by
00:24a moral compass rooted in humanity and religious conviction.
00:29Palestinians and the rest of the conscientious world have lost a great man, a leader and
00:33liberator," he said.
00:35Mahathir, who has spoken out strongly in support of Palestine and against Israel's treatment
00:40of Palestinians, claimed that Tel Aviv wanted to eliminate Haniyeh because they feared and
00:44hated everything he represented.
00:47He went on to say that while he was sad and angry over Haniyeh's death, he was hopeful
00:51that the latter's struggle would not die and that Palestinians would not allow his
00:55death to be in vain.
00:58Haniyeh, who played an important role in negotiations over a ceasefire in Gaza, was killed hours
01:03after he attended a swearing-in ceremony for the Islamic Republic's new president.
