Malaysia today condemned Israel's assassination of Hamas spiritual leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin as "state terrorism"

A foreign ministry statement said the killing of the 67-year-old cleric in a helicopter strike in Gaza city yesterday was against international law.

"Israel, by taking this means, has actually committed an act of state terrorism," the ministry was quoted as saying by the official Bernama news agency.

"This would only escalate further the cycle of deadly violence and increase tension," it said.

The government called on the international community to urge Israel to respect international law and abide by United Nations resolutions on the Palestinian question.

"We call on the Quartet (the European Union, Russia, the United Nations and the United States) to do whatever possible in order to ensure peace and security as well as the resumption of the peace process," the foreign ministry said.

Malaysia currently holds the chairmanship of the 57-member Organisation of the Islamic Conference (IOC) and of the Non-Aligned Movement of developing nations (NAM).

Expect more terror acts

Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar warned there would be more terror acts following Yassin's death, and called on the international community to "discipline" Israel.

"The situation has been made worse. There are going to be more terror acts, more suicide bombers. It was a very wrong move by Israel. There will be other Yassins, with more violence and more aggression," he told reporters.

"The international community must take action to discipline Israel," he said.

"Israel should not have the carte blanche to do anything it likes. I don't think any countries should be excused from international laws. No countries should take the law in their own hands under the pretext of self-defence."

If the world remained silent, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon would "continue to carry out his aggression and use unreasonable force to protect his country," he said.

The death of the wheelchair-bound Yassin prompted the radical Islamist movement Hamas, which he founded, to declare all-out war on Israel. - AFP