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hairman of House of Representatives Commission I overseeing foreign affairs and defense Mahfudz Siddiq has called for a probe on the alleged presence of Israeli nationals and Jewish religious insignia on houses in Tolikara, Papua.

Mahfudz said that although it was impossible that Israeli nationals had been conducting proselytizing projects in the area, the authority needed to conduct a probe soon.

'€œEvidence about the presence of Israeli nationals in Papua, as well as photo'€™s of Jewish insignia on houses in the area have been circulating on social media and this is no coincidence,'€ said Mahfudz, a lawmaker from the religious Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) as quoted by tribunnews.com.

Mahfudz claimed that since Judaism was an exclusive faith that does not allow conversion into it by non-Jewish people, he suspected that some of the Israeli nationals were running a political operation in the area.

'€œIt is likely that they are conducting an operation over the whole of Papua and not just Tolikara. The National Police, the National Intelligence Agency [BIN], the Indonesian Military and the Foreign Ministry need to conduct a probe on people with Israeli passports,'€ he said.

Earlier last month, a fatal clash between Christian and Muslim groups in Tolikara led to police shooting guns, the death of one teenager, the torching of a mosque and the destruction of a number of kiosks.

The authorities said that tensions were triggered by a letter from the Tolikara chapter of the Evangelical Church of Indonesia (GIDI), demanding that local Muslims not carry out loud outdoor Idul Fitri prayers on July 17.