A new assessment has to be made on the effectiveness of shipping humanitarian relief aid to ensure the aid reaches the people of Gaza, said former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

NONE He said: "We have to make an assessment first as to the effectiveness of the method of bringing relief to Gaza. This is not just a propaganda.

"We are very worried that the cement for example is not allowed by the Israelis to be imported into Gaza.

"They (Palestinians) may make use of it to build military bunkers to fight against them (Israelis), but without the cement they (Palestinians) cannot build the houses."

Mahathir said this when asked on the next move of the Perdana Global Peace Organisation (PGPO) to bring aid to the Gazans following the hijacking of the relief vessels by Israel's navy.

He was speaking to reporters after launching the inaugural charity fund to raise funds for the development of a new Kiblah Education Complex, which will comprise a secondary school, a tahfiz centre and a linguistics centre, under the patronage of Yayasan Kebajikan Nusantara (Yakin).

Mahathir is the chairman of PGPO, a non-government organisation involved in relief missions.

Altnernative routes to Gaza

It was involved in the Gaza Aid Flotilla mission to bring humanitarian aid to Gaza this past week but the Israelis refused to let the ships reach Gaza, instead diverting them to Ashdod Port in Israel.

The Israelis also attacked one of the ships in the convoy, causing nine deaths which sparked an international outrage and demands that Israel lifts its blockade of Gaza.

When asked whether humanitarian aid can be transported by air, he said that he did not think so, and added that "it might be by land".

NONE "If Egypt opens its border with Raffah in Gaza, they want to examine everything and every item that we take and that may cause delays, and also they may consider certain things as dangerous," he said in Kuala Lumpur last night.

Earlier in his speech, Mahathir ( right ) expressed his hope that the development of the new Kiblah Education Complex would stress understanding and the teaching of Quran.

The new Kiblah Education Complex will be built in Jenderam Hilir, Sepang.

At last night's charity dinner, Yakin received donations amounting  to RM3.5 million including 3 million Qatar Rials from the Qatar Emir, who was represented by the Mufti of the Grand Mosque in Mecca, Syeikh Dr Sulaiman Al-Saloomi.

- Bernama