Posted on 06/20/2002 5:39:14 AM PDT by areafiftyone
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia Malaysia's prime minister, a prominent Muslim moderate, warned today that supporters of Israel could be targets of terrorist attacks anywhere in the world if there is no solution to the Middle East conflict.
Mahathir Mohamad also said that the defeat of the Taliban regime in Afghanistan had done little to eliminate the wider threat of terrorism.
In a wide-ranging speech, Mahathir told the annual congress of his ruling party that harsh methods used by Israel in occupying Palestinian lands had led to terror in retaliation.
"We fear that anybody from among those who support Israel will be the target for the terrorists wherever they may be, whether in their own country or outside," Mahathir said.
He expressed concern that innocent people might be killed or abducted.
"It is not possible to have bodyguards for everyone when they go here and there throughout the world doing business," he said.
Mahathir is a staunch supporter of the Palestinians, but has condemned suicide bombings and other attacks targeting civilians.
Since the Sept. 11 attacks in the United States, the Malaysian leader has insisted that terrorism can be eliminated only by addressing the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and growing discontent in poor countries.
Over the past year, Mahathir has cracked down on alleged Islamic extremists believed to have plotted terror attacks against US targets in neighboring Singapore. The militants want to establish an Islamic state across Malaysia, Indonesia and the southern Philippines.
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