The US State Department summoned Malaysia's ambassador to Washington to clarify Kuala Lumpur's stance towards Israel, official Malaysian media reported on Friday.

Malaysian Foreign Minister Mohamed Hassan said that his country's ambassador to Washington, Muhammad Shah Ikhram Yaakub, informed the US State Department that Malaysia's longstanding policy of non-recognition of Israel is not new.

He added: 'This has always been Malaysia's policy. Our immigration policy does not recognize the state of Israel or the Zionist entity. This has always been our position.'

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The Bernama news agency quoted Mohamed as saying late Thursday: 'There was a person holding dual nationality, American and Israeli, who entered Malaysia using his US passport. However, subsequent investigations revealed that he also holds Israeli nationality, so we asked him to leave.'

A crisis arose after the 'Skol' network, a 'digital nomad' community founded by American investor Balaji Srinivasan in Malaysia, came under scrutiny after social media users said it included participants from Israel.

There are no diplomatic relations between Israel and Malaysia.

This was followed by an investigation by immigration authorities into the 'Skol' network, and the authorities eventually shut down the network on Tuesday.

Eight US congressmen later sent a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio expressing their displeasure over Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim's plan to track any Israeli citizens in his country and deport them immediately.

They urged the State Department to review the security and economic relations between the US and Malaysia.

They also called on the State Department to halt funding for the International Military Education and Training program, which provides professional US training to Malaysian military personnel, unless this decision is reversed within 15 days.