In her first trip abroad this year, Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi went to Amman this week to meet with her counterparts from Jordan and Palestine. The question of Palestine was one of the main issues she discussed with Jordan’s Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi on Tuesday, as it was with Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad Maliki.

“I reiterated the importance of the unity and solidity of Palestine. This becomes more important in the lead up to the planned presidential and parliamentary elections there,” Retno said in a joint statement with her Palestinian counterpart in Amman, on Wednesday.

Indonesia welcomed the recent meeting in Egypt in which Palestine’s two rival groups, Fatah and Hamas, agreed on steps designed to ensure the elections are held as planned later this year while also pledging to respect their results.

The two dominant factions – Fatah holds sway in the West Bank while Hamas ruled over Gaza – convened Monday for the talks in Cairo to prepare for the legislative vote on May 22 and a presidential election on July 31, Reuters reports.

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“Strong unity is crucial to ensure successful elections in Palestine. And to this end, Indonesia stands ready to send our observers upon your request, of course,” Retno said.

The minister also welcomed the result of an emergency meeting of the Arab League in Cairo, where member states expressed their support for the Palestinian cause, along with the significant change in the US approach to the conflict under the Biden administration.

“We must work harder to make 2021 a good year for peace between Palestine and Israel. We welcome the different approach taken by the US administration toward Palestine,” the minister said.

The new US administration has expressed its intention to repair relations with the Palestinians, which were largely abandoned by former president Donald Trump, who closed the Palestine Liberation Organization’s Washington office in 2018 and cut millions of dollars in aid to the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

Despite some legal hurdles that would prevent it from reversing Trump’s policies, the US has signaled that it will not continue Trump’s Middle East policy, which emphasized a more pro-Israel stance.

Read also: Indonesia hopeful for future of Palestine ahead of new US administration

As the country with the largest Muslim population in the world, Indonesia has been a staunch supporter of the Palestinian cause, having called for a two-state solution in accordance with United Nations Security Council resolutions and other internationally agreed parameters.

Retno said Indonesia stood ready to contribute to the resumption of peace talks, while committing to provide US$2.3 million in support of Palestine’s COVID-19 pandemic response through the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

“At the moment, the Indonesian government is communicating closely with the Palestinian Authority, UNRWA and the ICRC, and we hope the aid funding for COVID-19 mitigation in Palestine can be disbursed within the first half of this year,” she said.

In his own remarks, Maliki said he appreciated the fact that the issue of Palestine had remained an Indonesian foreign policy priority over the years, not only among leaders but also among the wider Indonesian public.

“Dear Minister, really, for your work, for your dedication, I know that you had difficult times in the past, in the near past and I know that you resisted all types of pressure when it comes to Palestine,” he said.

Read also: The tales of Palestine, Indonesia and a forgotten colony

In December, 2020, Indonesia dismissed any prospect that the country would open diplomatic channels with Israel, after a handful of Arab League countries moved to normalize their ties with Israel in a flurry of diplomatic deals brokered by the Trump administration.

Yon Machmudi, a Middle East expert from the University of Indonesia, said Indonesia did not have much to gain from reopening diplomatic ties with Israel, and when the US government changed its approach, Indonesia’s position would again become relevant.

“With no specific interest in regard to Israel, Indonesia can balance out the dynamic situation in the Middle East and show empathy with the Palestinian people,” he said.

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