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Discourse: Palestine envoy trusts in ongoing support from Indonesia
The Jakarta Post’s Dian Septiari sits down with Palestinian Ambassador to Indonesia Zuhair Al-Shun to discuss the struggle for Palestinian independence and Indonesia’s support.
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Palestinian Ambassador to Indonesia Zuhair Al-Shun (center) speaks at a forum for Palestinian solidarity in Jakarta in September 2018. (The Jakarta Post/Umair Rizaludin)
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em>For the 2020 commemoration of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo reiterated Indonesia’s undying support for Palestinian statehood during a recent United Nations meeting. The Jakarta Post’s Dian Septiari sat down with Palestinian Ambassador to Indonesia Zuhair Al-Shun to discuss the struggle for Palestinian independence and Indonesia’s support. Here are excerpts from the interview:
Question: The year 2020 has been hard for Palestinians, beginning with the announcement of United States President Donald Trump’s biased Middle East Peace Plan, followed by announcements by several neighboring countries on the normalization of relations with Israel. What is your reflection on the Israel-Palestine conflict?
Answer: Regarding the “Deal of the Century” and the normalization of ties, we consider it propaganda or a conspiracy in an attempt to weaken the position of Palestine in the eyes of the world.
Palestine's position on these issues is very clear; we reject the [US proposal] and reject normalization. With regard to normalization itself, to be honest, we felt hurt and unhappy about what had happened. We took it as a harsh blow against us.
However, I would like to convey that, despite the change of positions in any country, including friendly countries, we are not giving up and we will not be deterred.
We consider the US to be a true friend of [Israeli leader Benjamin] Netanyahu and Israel. The recent visit of US Secretary of State [Mike Pompeo] to an Israeli-occupied territory – which the US itself considered illegal in the 1980s – shows that they’re justifying the occupation.
