PUTRAJAYA, Malaysia: Malaysia’s foreign minister said Wednesday that the government will not budge over a ban on Israeli athletes in a para swimming competition and has decided that the country will not host any events in the future involving Israel.
Malaysia, a strong supporter of the Palestinian cause, is among the predominantly Muslim countries that do not have diplomatic relations with Israel. The government has said Israeli swimmers cannot join the competition in eastern Sarawak state in July, which serves as a qualifying event for the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics.
Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah said the Cabinet affirmed last week that no Israeli delegates can enter Malaysia for sporting or other events in solidarity with the Palestinians.
“The Cabinet has also decided that Malaysia will not host any more events involving Israel or its representatives. This is to me, a decision to reflect the government’s firm stance over the Israeli issue,” Saifuddin said after meeting a coalition of Muslim groups. The groups submitted a memorandum urging the government to stick to the ban and not to repeat mistakes in the past of allowing Israel delegates into the country.
Saifuddin said the Palestinian cause was not just a religious issue but also a human right violation.
“It’s about fighting on behalf of the oppressed,” he said.
Israel’s Paralympic Committee did not immediately reply to an email requesting comment on Malaysia’s move.
Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has said the International Paralympic Committee can withdraw Malaysia’s right to host the July 29-Aug 4 championship involving athletes from some 70 countries if they wish to do so. The committee has said it was disappointed with Mahathir’s comments but hopes to find a solution to the issue.
This isn’t the first time Malaysia has stopped Israeli athletes from competing in a sports event. In 2015, two Israeli windsurfers had to withdraw from a competition on the resort island of Langkawi after they were refused visas to enter. The following year, Malaysia decided not to host a 2017 conference of the world football governing body FIFA because an Israeli delegation was scheduled to participate.
But earlier this year, the government allowed a high-level Israeli delegation to attend a UN conference in Kuala Lumpur, sparking widespread anger among Muslim groups.
Some 60 percent of Malaysia’s 32 million people are ethnic Malay Muslims. Many have taken to the streets in the past to support the Palestinian cause.
![]()
Malaysia says it won’t host any more events involving Israel
Malaysia says it won’t host any more events involving Israel
- Malaysia is a strong supporter of the Palestinian plight
- The government said Israeli swimmers cannot join the competition in July that serves as a qualifying event for the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics
US judge declines to halt Trump’s Minnesota immigration agent surge
- State officials’ lawsuit accused federal agents of illegal activities
- Ruling came amid protests in Minneapolis over immigration clampdown
A Minnesota federal judge on Saturday declined to order a halt to President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement crackdown in Minneapolis, in a lawsuit by state officials accusing federal agents of widespread civil rights abuses.
US District Judge Kate Menendez in Minneapolis handed down the ruling. The lawsuit by the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office sought to block or rein in a US Department of Homeland Security operation that sent thousands of immigration agents to Minneapolis-St. Paul, sparking weeks of protests and leading to the killings of two US citizens by federal agents.
Trump said on Saturday that he has ordered the Department of Homeland Security to “under no circumstances” get involved with protests in Democratic-led cities unless they ask for federal help or federal property is threatened.
Menendez was appointed by Democratic former President Joe Biden.
Menendez noted the federal appeals court recently stayed a much narrower injunction curtailing US Immigration and Customs Enforcement tactics in Minnesota. “If that injunction went too far, then the one at issue here — halting the entire operation — certainly would,” she wrote.
State alleges racial profiling, unlawful detainment
The lawsuit accused federal agents of racially profiling citizens, unlawfully detaining lawful residents for hours and stoking fear with heavy-handed tactics. Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, an elected Democrat, also accused the Trump administration of targeting Minnesota out of animus for its Democratic political leanings.
The Trump administration said the operation was aimed at enforcing federal immigration laws pursuant to the Republican president’s policies. Some administration officials said the surge would end if Minnesota acquiesced to certain demands, including ending legal protections for people living in the US without legal authorization.
“We’re obviously disappointed in the court’s ruling today, but this case is in its infancy and there is much legal road in front of us, so we’re fighting on,” Ellison said in a statement.
Tensions in Minneapolis-St. Paul ramped up after the January 7 killing of Renee Good, who was shot in her car by a federal immigration agent in an incident captured in widely circulated bystander videos. The fatal shooting of Alex Pretti by a Border Patrol agent on January 24 further inflamed tensions.
The Trump administration defended the agents, saying they had acted in self-defense. But videos of the events cast doubt on those narratives and fueled calls for the agents to be criminally prosecuted. Federal authorities refused to cooperate with local law enforcement investigations of the killings.
Trump and Minnesota’s Democratic Governor Tim Walz said they spoke on Monday and had a productive conversation about de-escalating tensions.
Trump has deployed federal law enforcement officers into several cities and states largely governed by Democrats, including Los Angeles, Chicago, Washington, D.C., and Portland, Oregon. He said his actions were necessary to enforce immigration laws and control crime, but Democrats accused Trump of abusing his powers as the top federal law enforcer.
But comments by Trump on Saturday suggested that federal law enforcement deployments will only happen in the future if cities request it.
“If they want help, they have to ask for it,” he told reporters aboard Air Force One on Saturday. “Because if we go in, all they do is complain.”
US District Judge Kate Menendez in Minneapolis handed down the ruling. The lawsuit by the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office sought to block or rein in a US Department of Homeland Security operation that sent thousands of immigration agents to Minneapolis-St. Paul, sparking weeks of protests and leading to the killings of two US citizens by federal agents.
Trump said on Saturday that he has ordered the Department of Homeland Security to “under no circumstances” get involved with protests in Democratic-led cities unless they ask for federal help or federal property is threatened.
Menendez was appointed by Democratic former President Joe Biden.
Menendez noted the federal appeals court recently stayed a much narrower injunction curtailing US Immigration and Customs Enforcement tactics in Minnesota. “If that injunction went too far, then the one at issue here — halting the entire operation — certainly would,” she wrote.
State alleges racial profiling, unlawful detainment
The lawsuit accused federal agents of racially profiling citizens, unlawfully detaining lawful residents for hours and stoking fear with heavy-handed tactics. Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, an elected Democrat, also accused the Trump administration of targeting Minnesota out of animus for its Democratic political leanings.
The Trump administration said the operation was aimed at enforcing federal immigration laws pursuant to the Republican president’s policies. Some administration officials said the surge would end if Minnesota acquiesced to certain demands, including ending legal protections for people living in the US without legal authorization.
“We’re obviously disappointed in the court’s ruling today, but this case is in its infancy and there is much legal road in front of us, so we’re fighting on,” Ellison said in a statement.
Tensions in Minneapolis-St. Paul ramped up after the January 7 killing of Renee Good, who was shot in her car by a federal immigration agent in an incident captured in widely circulated bystander videos. The fatal shooting of Alex Pretti by a Border Patrol agent on January 24 further inflamed tensions.
The Trump administration defended the agents, saying they had acted in self-defense. But videos of the events cast doubt on those narratives and fueled calls for the agents to be criminally prosecuted. Federal authorities refused to cooperate with local law enforcement investigations of the killings.
Trump and Minnesota’s Democratic Governor Tim Walz said they spoke on Monday and had a productive conversation about de-escalating tensions.
Trump has deployed federal law enforcement officers into several cities and states largely governed by Democrats, including Los Angeles, Chicago, Washington, D.C., and Portland, Oregon. He said his actions were necessary to enforce immigration laws and control crime, but Democrats accused Trump of abusing his powers as the top federal law enforcer.
But comments by Trump on Saturday suggested that federal law enforcement deployments will only happen in the future if cities request it.
“If they want help, they have to ask for it,” he told reporters aboard Air Force One on Saturday. “Because if we go in, all they do is complain.”
Latest updates
Recommended
© 2026 SAUDI RESEARCH & PUBLISHING COMPANY, All Rights Reserved And subject to Terms of Use Agreement.