Palestine Thanked Indonesia For Its Support

Jakarta (Antara Bali) - The Palestinian Embassy for Indonesia expressed its gratitude towards Indonesia for the country's support in declining the United States' recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital city.

"Thank you for the people and government of Indonesia for giving out their support for Palestine. President Joko Widodo had made a phone call the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and delivered his support directly," said an official from the Palestinian Embassy for Indonesia Taher Hamad in Jakarta, Friday.

He also appreciated President Joko Widodo's, as well as Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi's firm stance in regional and international forums.

The Foreign Minister, he continued, had shown Indonesia's support towards Palestine by putting on a 'keffiyeh', that is a fabric unique to the Palestine, during the 10th Bali Democracy Forum  that was held in Banten last week.

He also touched on the support given by Chairman of the Inter-faith Dialogue Forum Din Syamsuddin who had brought together leaders from multiple religions to show their support towards Palestine.

Hamad believed that the dispute that is currently going on in Palestine is not a matter of religion, as historically, the area was actually housed the emergence of the world's three major faiths, Islam, Jewish and Christian.

However, since 1967, he continued, there had been an occupation of the Palestinian grounds done by the Israelis, from the West Bank area, to Gaza and Jerusalem.

Hamad said that acts that violated human rights had been going on for 40 years as Muslims in Palestine were prohibited from performing their prayers and religious rituals in the Al-Aqsha mosque in Jerusalem.

He then affirmed that Palestine need the support from Indonesia, as well as member countries of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, to not recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital city, which was previously carried out by US President Donald Trump.

"What we need at the moment are both diplomatic and political supports from the Indonesian public and government," he concluded. (WDY)