Besides issuing a condemnation against Israel for its attacks on Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and the occupied West Bank, and appealing for a cease-fire, Jokowi has spoken separately to leaders from Turkey, Malaysia, Singapore, Afghanistan and Brunei on how to help defuse the situation.

He achieved little, however, beyond getting his Malaysian and Bruneian counterparts to jointly issue a statement on Sunday, condemning Israel and calling its actions as a violation of international laws, including humanitarian and human rights law.

More than 200 Palestinians, including 61 children, have been killed since hostilities flared between the Jewish state and armed Palestinian groups in the Gaza Strip last week.

For historical and spiritual reasons, the Palestinian question has always been a major political issue in Indonesia, the country with the largest Muslim population in the world. The issue also often plays into its domestic politics. So it has both international and domestic dimensions.

For this reason, Indonesia has continued to be vocal in criticizing Israel, even though it has little leverage in influencing the course of events in the conflict.

While it supports the two-state solution, Jakarta has stubbornly refused to open diplomatic relations with Israel until after the creation of an independent Palestinian state. There have been entreaties from Tel Aviv and some nudging from the United States to reconsider this position since establishing ties would open a line of communication to give it some leverage on Israel.

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