The clocktower in Apia, Samoa. Photo: Stephen Glauser via Wikimedia Commons.

A member of the Samoan Parliament has called on his country to unequivocally back Israel “in the face of growing hostility against God’s people from other countries in the world,” the Samoa Observer reported on Tuesday.

“I strongly urge our government that whatever happens to Israel, we should always support that government,” MP Alaiasa Sepulona Moananu — who represents Anoama’a East — said. “We have to.”

“The God upon whom Samoa is founded is the God of the Bible,” Alaiasa went on to say. “If we go back to theology, he is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and from them comes Jesus Christ whom we believe.”

The Samoan legislator made the remarks during a debate about a proposed constitutional amendment to declare the tiny Pacific island nation to be a Christian state. Alaiasa was speaking in support of the amendment.

Samoa consists of two main islands and has a population of close to 200,000 people. It gained independence from New Zealand in 1962 and was admitted to the United Nations in 1976.

The Samoan Parliament — called the Fono — is a 49-seat unicameral legislative body that meets in the capital city of Apia.

The prime minister of Samoa is Tuilaepa Aiono Sailele Malielegaoi and the head of state is Tufuga Efi.

Israel and Samoa established diplomatic relations in 1977. According to the Israeli Embassy in New Zealand, the Jewish state and Samoa have “endeavored to address challenges in the areas of sustainable development, human rights, poverty, terrorism, transnational crime and indeed, climate change and sea level rise, which is an issue of importance and urgency in the Pacific region.”