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Kindred spirits: Indonesia’s 75 years of unwavering support for Palestine
It was always going to be a challenge for Indonesia to insert itself into the Israel-Palestinian conflict, even as the world’s largest Muslim-majority country. It did so anyway.
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President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo (right) talks with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas at the start of their bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the extraordinary Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) summit on Palestinian issues in Jakarta, on March 6, 2016. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)
"Documenting 75 years of resilience" is a series of special reports by The Jakarta Post to celebrate Indonesia’s Independence Day on Aug. 17, 1945.
The day after the United Arab Emirates announced it would become the first Gulf Arab country to normalize diplomatic relations with Israel last Thursday, Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi received a phone call from her Emirati counterpart to discuss the new development.
The agreement between the UAE and Israel, dubbed the Abraham Accord, was facilitated by the United States and includes Israel’s commitment to suspend plans to annex Palestinian territory in the occupied West Bank. The policy shift was the most significant development since Washington unveiled its “deal of the century” early this year.
Read also: Indonesia drums up support for Palestine at UNSC
Indonesia had spoken out against the planned annexation in the months leading up to July 1, which Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu talked up as the day his country would formalize its annexation plan. Retno sent letters to dozens of foreign ministers and international figures, warning that such a move would destabilize the region and undermine efforts to reach a lasting political solution to the Middle East conflict.
The same message was conveyed last Friday in a phone call with UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who Retno had worked closely with just a few weeks earlier, when the countries agreed to open a travel corridor to facilitate the UAE’s massive investment in Indonesia.
“I reiterated Indonesia’s position that the solution for the Palestinian-Israeli [conflict] must be based on relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions and internationally agreed parameters, including the two-state solution,” she said on Twitter.
