'Malaysia did not train Hamas fighters'

Malaysia has never been used as a training ground for Hamas fighters or any other similar groups, said Deputy Home Affairs Minister Datuk Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar.

“It is impossible that we provide such trainings in this country. The report is incorrect.”

His comment was in response to a report in the Jerusalem Post which reported that a Hamas fighter, under Israel’s remand, revealed he was trained in Malaysia to carry out cross-border attacks using powered parachute.

“Does not matter what kind of freedom fighting group they belong to, even those against Israel. We have never allowed or given permission to have such trainings here.

"I reiterate that we do not have combat trainings for such purposes. Those who are interested can train in a different country,” he said.

In the report, Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) said the suspect, who is a Hamas cell commander captured in Khan Younis, told interrogators the training in Malaysia was part of Hamas’s preparations to oppose an Israel Defence Force (IDF) ground offensive in the Gaza Strip.

The suspect is reported to have joined Hamas in 2007 and became a part of its military wing known as the al-Qassam brigade.

He reportedly travelled to Malaysia in 2012, where he and nine other Hamas members learned how to fly a powered parachute.