Nahdlatul Ulama called for restraint from both Palestine and Israel amid heightening conflicts in the region, saying in a statement that an open war would only harm civilians.
ndonesia’s largest Islamic organization, Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), on Monday called for restraint from both Palestine and Israel amid heightening conflicts in the region, saying in a statement that an open war would only harm civilians.
The call came as the latest addition to a growing number of appeals from Islamic groups across the country, as death tolls on both sides continue to increase, and the government’s ongoing effort to find a contingency plan to evacuate its nationals intensifies.
Palestinian militant group Hamas launched a surprise assault on Israel from Gaza on Saturday, firing a barrage of rockets and sending a wave of fighters who gunned down civilians and took at least 100 hostages, AFP reported. In retaliation, Israeli air strikes have hammered the impoverished and blockaded Gaza Strip, an enclave of 2.3 million people, with officials there reporting at least 413 Palestinian deaths.
NU central board (PBNU) chairman Achmad Fahrur Rozi on Monday told The Jakarta Post that the organization was “profoundly concerned” with the ongoing conflict, calling for an “immediate end” to the situation as well as a resolution and supervision from the United Nations.
“We hope and call for an immediate ceasefire on both the Palestinian and Israeli sides for a mediation and withdrawal from violence,” Achmad said. “The arms power [between the two sides] is imbalanced and will only worsen the suffering of the Palestinian people. A peace-led solution is much more preferred than continuous war.”
Also on Monday, reports emerged that the UN Security Council (UNSC) had met behind closed doors in an emergency meeting to discuss the matter, but failed to reach a consensus for a joint statement.
Read also: Indonesia calls for end to violence in Mideast
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