At the UN headquarters in New York, Indonesian diplomats and those from other OIC (Organization of Islamic Cooperation) countries exited the debate hall just before Israel addressed the assembly on Friday night, leaving the hall half-empty when Netanyahu started his speech.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Rolliansyah Soemirat told The Jakarta Post on Sunday that Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi had instructed the Indonesian diplomats to do so on her behalf as she was at another meeting at the UN headquarters.

The Israeli PM was met with applause from some of the remaining delegates in the hall as he spoke of the country’s rights to retaliate and “continue degrading Hezbollah”, referring to the escalating conflict between Israel and the Iran-backed military group based in Lebanon.

It was the second time that year that Indonesia walked out of a UN meeting on the issue of Palestine. In January, Retno led an Indonesian delegation in a walkout at a UN Security Council (UNSC) meeting at the start of a speech by the then-Israeli permanent representative to the UN.

Read also: Indonesia walks out of heated Gaza debate at UN

Retno addressed the UN on Saturday, calling for an end to Israel's continued onslaught in Gaza and the West Bank and urging countries that had yet to recognize Palestine as a sovereign state to do so.