Arab News Japan

TOKYO: Palestine Ambassador to Japan Waleed Siam on Thursday said that a video of a Japanese cult member writing a message of support for an Israeli bomb to be used against Gaza has damaged Japan’s reputation in the Arab and Islamic world.

The person who wrote the message is believed to belong to the Makuya religious cult, which originated in Japan but is strongly aligned with Israel.

“I don’t believe they represent Japan,” Siam said at a Security Crisis Management Seminar in Tokyo on Thursday. “Japanese people always support the weak, so these people are out of the social acceptance of Japan. I know that. So, to give them any attention makes them very important.”

“But unfortunately, it has a negative aspect in the streets of the Arab world and the Islamic world when they see a Japanese person signing the bomb. As one of the Arab ambassadors said, Japan’s long-standing image of valuing justice might have been ruined. Arab ambassadors explained that the Mukaya cult doesn’t represent Japan. Japan is and continues to be a true friend of Palestine and the Arab and Islamic world.”

The ambassador also questioned Japan’s portrayal of the conflict in Gaza.

“Palestine has been attacked by Israel for the past 132 days, especially in Gaza in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Seventy percent of children and women and 63 percent of Gaza were destroyed. And still, the world is silent.”

“What happened on the 7th of October was not the beginning of the conflict between the Palestinians and Israelis. It is the result of 100 years of military occupation. For the past 75 years, international society has not tried to solve the conflict with a two-state solution. Why is the international community protecting Israel and not the Palestinians? We are the victims.”

Siam also questioned the allegations that members of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) supported Hamas in its attacks on Israel.

“Who can believe these claims?” Siam asked. “Why do they suspend funds? Where is the evidence? 1.9 million people are suffering from a lack of water, medical care, medicine, and food.”

“The reason why there are moves to dismantle UNRWA is that it supports the right of 5 to 6 million Palestinian refugees’ right to return. It is an important organization that holds the lifeline of Palestinians scattered throughout Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Gaza’s West Bank, and East Jerusalem. The dismantling of UNRWA means denying Palestinians the right to return and denying the very existence of Palestinian refugees.”

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