Following the reelection of President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, some may ask whether Palestine will remain a priority of foreign policy.

During a short visit of Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi to Jordan in early March, it was reaffirmed that Indonesia’s commitment and support for the struggle of Palestinian independence will never diminish. Political, economic, humanitarian support and capacity building are forms of our constant support.

Indonesia will always be on the forefront if a crisis occurs in Palestine and will keep pronouncing its strong voice against Israel’s occupation and blockade, both in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Indonesia’s staunch support for Palestine is mandated by its 1945 Constitution. Its preamble, inter alia, says that “independence is the inalienable right of every nation, therefore, colonialization on earth must be abolished”.

In the last two years, following the United States’ plan to launch “the deal of the century”, the situation in Palestine has seriously deteriorated even further, with more uncertainty. The US’ unconditional support for Israel has justified its even more aggressive policies toward Palestine.

Such US support has been reflected in, among other things, the US decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel; to move its Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem; to close the PLO’s office in Washington, DC and to cut its annual contribution to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).

The visit of up to 90,000 Indonesian tourists [...] has also given economic benefits to the Palestinians [...]

As a consequence, Israel keeps imposing its apartheid policy on Palestine. By intentionally ignoring various UN resolutions, Israel has intensified the building of illegal Jewish settlements, forcefully taken over Palestinian properties and assets, deducted Palestinian import tax and has unilaterally terminated the mandate of the civilian observer mission called the Temporary International Presence in Hebron.

The increasing violence and provocative efforts to change the status quo of the holy city of Jerusalem are also continuously directed by the Israeli regime.

In its capacity as a nonpermanent member of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) for 2019-2020,

Indonesia will continue to reaffirm its solid position on Palestine’s struggle for independence with East Jerusalem as its capital. Indonesia will always raise the issue of Palestine to gain attention and to be discussed in the Security Council. During its presidency in May, Indonesia brought up the legal and humanitarian issues in Palestine, particularly the follow-up of a 2016 UNSC resolution on the Israelis’ illegal settlements.

For economic reasons, Indonesia has issued a new zero tariff policy for products from Palestine, namely dates and olive oil. Other products are now being considered to gain a similar exemption. Such a trade incentive would hopefully be able to increase Palestinian exports to Indonesia.

The visit of up to 90,000 Indonesian tourists to the holy land annually has also given economic benefits to the Palestinians in easing their burden of more than 50 years under Israeli occupation.

Humanitarian diplomacy is another effective tool for Indonesia to assist Palestine, especially for 5.5 million refugees residing in Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, the West Bank and Gaza. In the midst of the UNRWA’s financial crisis, Indonesia has multiplied its annual contribution from US$200,000 (Rp 2.85 billion) to $1 million.

Humanitarian assistance for Palestinian refugees has also come from different circles, such as the zakat (tithes) agency (BAZNAS), the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI), boy scouts, philanthropists, universities, humanitarian agencies and celebrities. In the last two years, donations and aid collected from these circles have reached $4.5 million.

Another type of constant contribution is through capacity building. For more than a decade, Indonesia has allocated $12 million, including for a three-year program under the Conference on Cooperation among East Asian Countries for Palestine.

Up to now, over 2,000 Palestinians have been trained under this framework and other bilateral technical cooperation programs. The training has been provided for over 170 different areas of expertise, such as micro finance, small and medium enterprises, agriculture, tourism, fisheries, women’s empowerment, fiscal policy and e-procurement.

With such numerous and diverse support for Palestine, clearly the issue of Palestine will always be in the hearts and minds of the Indonesian people. The unwavering support for Palestine, either through political, economic, humanitarian support and capacity building, both from the government and the people, will never recede. Under the reelected president, the issue of Palestine should continue to be a foreign policy priority for the next five years.

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The writer is Indonesia’s ambassador to Jordan and Palestine. The views expressed are his own.

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