Palestine is working to gather Indonesian support ahead of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ speech at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) this week, where he is expected to address the radical shift in the United States’ policy on Palestine.

Palestinian Ambassador to Indonesia Zuhair Al-Shun gathered Indonesian officials, religious leaders and humanitarian groups for a discussion at the Palestinian Embassy in Jakarta on Monday.

He said it was important for Indonesia, who had long committed to supporting the Palestinian cause, to stand by President Abbas when he makes his speech at the UNGA on Thursday.

“Palestine’s independence will bring stability and security in the world, and eliminate historical injustice against the Palestinian people,” Ambassador Al-Shun said.

At the 73rd session of the UNGA in New York, the United States, heads of state from 193 member countries will have the opportunity to speak on various international issues.

US President Donald Trump spoke at the assembly’s first session on Monday.

Abbas will speak on Thursday morning, just ahead of Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu, who will have his turn as the session’s 18th speaker. Vice President Jusuf Kalla is slated to speak on Thursday afternoon.

Palestine’s struggle for independence has faced tough challenges as of late, beginning with the Trump administration’s open support for Israel, its rival in the decades-long unresolved Middle East peace process.

In December, Trump announced he would recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. He followed this up with a decision to relocate the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem in May, despite wide condemnation from many countries believing it was a violation of various UN resolutions.

Earlier this month, Trump also cut all funding to the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), causing a huge deficit in an agency that provides housing, health care, education and social services to around 5 million Palestinian refugees. At present, the agency faces a deficit of around US$217 million.

“We will continue our struggle and face all challenges until we win and form an independent Palestinian state with Al-Quds [Jerusalem] as the capital of the country,” he said.

Din Syamsuddin, chairman of the Indonesia-Palestine Friendship Initiative, said the Palestinian people have the full support of the Indonesian people in achieving their ultimate goal of independence.

“For all of us, what happens in Palestine is a global injustice, tyranny that will only create new problems for the entire world,” Din said.

The Foreign Ministry’s director for Middle East affairs, Sunarko, said Indonesia would keep voicing its commitment to support the Palestinian cause in various international for a and offer its full support of Palestine’s membership in international organizations.

“With Indonesia soon to be a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council, we will keep supporting [Palestine],” he said.

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