Activists with the Boycott of Israel campaign in Malaysia demonstrate in front of Shah Alam Court to denounce companies supporting the occupation (Al Jazeera)
McDonald's Malaysia has announced that it has dropped the defamation lawsuit it filed last December against the BDS branch in the country.
Lion Horn, the McDonald's franchisee in Malaysia, said it had received clarifications from BDS regarding the statements made through conversations with a court-appointed mediator.
Horn (McDonald's franchise owner in Malaysia) denounced what she described as all types of violence in Palestine, and said that she was contributing to providing humanitarian support to the Palestinians affected by the violence, as she described it.
For its part, the Boycott Israel Foundation in Malaysia commented that it was not surprised by the dropping of the defamation lawsuit against it, given that the lawsuit lacks legal standards and foundations.
She explained that she is continuing her campaign to boycott Israel, and that she considers dealing with the occupation to be complicity in the aggression and crimes that have so far led to the martyrdom of more than 32,000 Palestinians, most of whom are children and women.
The lawyer for the Boycott Israel Foundation, Muhammad Redha Hassan, told reporters in front of the Shah Alam Court that the two parties entered into a dialogue to reach an extrajudicial solution, and explained that they held a first session, which he described as positive, through a mediator appointed by the court.
He added that another session would be held on April 30, but the statements came before the franchise company announced that it would drop the defamation lawsuit against BDS.
Horn's company was seeking damages estimated at more than $1.2 million.
Earlier, pictures and videos appeared on social media of McDonald's distributing free meals to Israeli soldiers believed to be fighting in the Gaza Strip, while McDonald's Malaysia said it had no relationship with the company's branch in Israel.
McDonald's International lost billions of dollars in value following its financial director's announcement this month about the continued impact of the boycott, in the Arab region and the Islamic world, on the company's sales during the current year.
Source: Al Jazeera