The Gaza file, the two-state solution and the recipe for a long life… Mahathir Mohamad talks to Al Jazeera live (video)

One hundred years of a politician who does not age

Former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said he would never trust Israel for repeatedly violating the Gaza ceasefire and that weeks after the Gaza ceasefire, it continues to kill Palestinians.

Mahathir said in an interview with Al Jazeera Mubasher: “We expected the killing, shooting and shelling to stop, but it didn’t. The Israelis find reasons to kill and continue killing Palestinians. They kill more people during the ceasefire.”

“Recognition of Palestine is not enough”

Commenting on the recognition of a Palestinian state by many countries such as France, Britain and others last September, Mahathir Mohamad said there was a need to stop the genocide and not just recognize a Palestinian state.

He added: “Simply recognizing two states does not mean any progress. What they need to do is stop the genocide carried out by Israel. Only then will recognizing two states make sense.”

Mahathir went on to say, “The international community considers Palestine a state, which means there will be two states, but America and Israel refuse to have two states, including a Palestinian state. Rather, they prefer to call it the Palestinian ‘Authority’.”

The former Prime Minister of Malaysia noted that the process of reconstruction of Gaza will be very difficult and expensive, and noted that Israel destroyed the territory of the Gaza Strip without any justification.

A veteran Malaysian politician expressed concern over the poor humanitarian and psychological conditions of the people of the Gaza Strip, stressing that a large percentage of the Strip’s population suffers from “post-traumatic stress disorder” after the brutal Israeli war they have witnessed for two years.

Tips for a long life

In an interview with Al Jazeera Mubasher, Mahathir Mohamad, who turned 100 this year and led a busy political life, offered advice for good health, saying: “I believe you have to stay active to survive. Once you sleep, sleep and do nothing, it affects your body and your psychology.”

He added: “Keep active in old age, use your body and mind and take an interest in what’s going on around you.”