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Indonesia to attend Palestine-Israel talks hosted by France
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Palestinian children sleep as they and their mother wait their turn to pass through the Rafah border crossing, in the southern Gaza Strip on Wednesday. Hamas said Egypt had temporarily opened its border crossing with the Gaza Strip, which is Gaza’s main gateway to the outside world. The opening of the crossing is seen as a goodwill gesture ahead of Ramadhan. (AP/Khalil Hamra)
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ndonesia will participate in an upcoming meeting initiated by France to promote peace in Palestine and Israel through a two-state solution.
Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi will attend a ministerial meeting in Paris on June 3 to discuss preparations ahead of the peace conference to be held in France.
“The conference itself is planned to be held in the second half of the year and will discuss what ‘package’ would suit best for both Israel and Palestine in obtaining a peaceful resolution,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Arrmanatha Nasir told reporters during a press briefing on Wednesday.
The French government has taken the initiative to start a new series of peace talks between Palestine and Israel, which stagnated when communications broke down in 2014, Arrmanatha said.
The details, including whether heads of state will be included in the conference, have not been decided, said the spokesman.
Arrmanatha said the conference would involve the Middle East Quartet — which comprises the United States, Russia, the European Union and the United Nations — the Arab League, the UN Security Council and about 20 other countries.
Members of the UN Security Council have confirmed their attendance, including China and the UK.
European countries set to participate include Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Sweden, Switzerland, Italy, Ireland and Spain.
From the Middle Eastern region, Jordan, Morocco, Saudi Arabia and Turkey will attend. Canada has also confirmed its participation.
"The countries that have been invited are those that have been active in their efforts to push for peace between Palestine and Israel," Arrmanatha said.
Indonesia has also played a unique role in actively pushing for peace in many international forums, such as the UN and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). Most recently, the country hosted an OIC Extraordinary Summit in Jakarta in March this year.
Citing examples from the past, Arrmanatha said Norway had discussed Palestinian-Israeli negotiations in the Oslo Accord I in 1993. Meanwhile, Spain held the Madrid Conference in 1991.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault previously proposed holding the preliminary meeting on May 30, but it was postponed as US Secretary of State John Kerry was not available. (bbn)
