By Palestine Chronicle Staff
Palestinian scientist Fadi Albatsh, 35, from the Gaza Strip, was shot dead in the Malaysia capital Kuala Lumpur this morning when he was on his way to perform the Dawn prayer near his house, local Malaysian sources said.
Albatsh was shot at close range by two unidentified motorcyclists. His family has accused the Mossad of standing behind the assassination.
Albatsh won the prestigious Khazanah scholarship in Malaysia and was the first Palestinian student to win the scholarship. He also won the Best Researcher Award offered by Khazanah in 2016, which was attended by the Malaysian Prime Minister Mohd Najib Razak.
#UnofficalStatement. It is with deep sorrow to inform the sad demise of Dr Fadi M R AlBatsh, Senior Lecturer at Universiti Kuala Lumpur British Malaysian Institute (@UniKLBMI_ ) Gombak this morning.
Read the full statement at https://t.co/AP0s5KgDZ2 pic.twitter.com/NIt6WtYWBe
— UniKL Official (@UniKLOfficial) April 21, 2018
The PhD research of Albatsh covered the area of ‘electrical resistance’, where he managed to produce a device that reduces 18% of electrical resistance. He aspired to use his research in the Gaza Strip to solve the electricity outages problem. Albatsh has 18 published papers in electrical engineering and was involved in Malaysian aid groups working in Palestine.
He won the best research award in the Smart Network Conference in Saudi Arabia. He also won an award to present his research results in three minutes at the University of Malaya.
Palestinian lecturer Dr Fadi Albatsh,35, was shot dead outside his house in Kuala Lumpur early this morning.
He was walking to a nearby mosque to perform Fajr prayers when two men on a motorcycle approached him at 6am. https://t.co/dv2xpOyMMH
— Duha Allawi (@duhaallawi) April 21, 2018
Viva Palestine Malaysia noted in a statement that Albatsh,
“has been very active in various platforms, including VPM, Boycott, Divestment and Sanction (BDS) and Palestinian Students Organizations in Malaysia to advance the cause for justice and peace for Palestine.”
The Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement and Hamas have condemned the assassination, directing fingers at Mossad as well. Hamas said in a statement that Albatsh was one of its members.
(PC)
