TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Popular Reads
Top Results
No results found. Please check your search term and try again
Can't find what you're looking for?
View all search results
Popular Reads
Top Results
No results found. Please check your search term and try again
Can't find what you're looking for?
View all search resultsIndonesia intensifies diplomacy as more citizens detained in Gaza flotilla
Israeli forces have started detaining people involved in the flotilla to send humanitarian aid to Gaza, including a total of nine Indonesian citizens, as confirmed by the Foreign Ministry.
Change text size
Gift Premium Articles
to Anyone
Share the best of The Jakarta Post with friends, family, or colleagues. As a subscriber, you can gift 3 to 5 articles each month that anyone can read—no subscription needed!
Activists hold a rally against Israel's interception of ships participating in the Global Sumud Flotilla, a civilian-led humanitarian aid mission to Gaza by sea, on May 19 in Bandung, West Java. (AFP/Timur Matahari)
M
ore Indonesians have been confirmed of being detained by Israeli authorities following the interception of a Gaza-bound aid flotilla in international open waters, prompting the government to pursue talks with partnering countries and through other diplomatic channels to secure their release.
On Wednesday, the Foreign Ministry confirmed the number of Indonesian aid volunteers and journalists arrested by the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) has risen to nine. They were part of the Global Sumud Flotilla, an international civilian convoy seeking to break Israel’s naval blockade of Gaza and deliver humanitarian aid.
While saying that limited communication avenues had hampered authorities from receiving updates on the detainees, Foreign Minister Sugiono assured that the government would utilize all of its diplomatic channels to ensure the safety of the detained Indonesian citizens.
“We have communicated with our counterparts with direct links to Israel, such as those in Jordan and Turkey, to ensure that our citizens are treated fairly, and later can be processed quickly so they can return home immediately,” Sugiono said on Wednesday.
The minister added the government would also turn to the Board of Peace to push for the release of the detainees, but stopping short of explaining the details of the plan.
Indonesia has no formal ties with Israel, but the country joined earlier this year the United States-led Board of Peace grouping, one of which focuses on the post-war reconstruction of Palestinian territory of Gaza. The board includes Israel as one of its members.
