US summons Malaysian envoy over barring of duel American-Israeli citizen

The U.S. State Department summoned Malaysia's ambassador to the U.S. after Malaysia expelled an individual with dual American-Israeli citizenship. Malaysian Foreign Minister Mohamad Hasan stated that Malaysia's immigration policy does not recognize Israel. Ambassador Muhammad Shahrul Ikram Yaakob explained, "Our immigration policy does not recognise the State of Israel or the Zionist regime. This has long been our position." The individual had entered Malaysia using a U.S. passport, but was asked to leave upon discovery of Israeli citizenship. This follows an incident in July where a tech startup's operating license was revoked after accusations of hosting Israeli dual-passport holders, leading Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim to state that Israeli nationals would be deported. Eight Democratic congressmen subsequently urged U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio to address Malaysia's actions, calling it "totally unacceptable" for a head of government to declare a hunt for citizens based solely on their nationality.