Thu 11 June 2020:
Indonesia has called on the Muslim world and its allies to join hands in a “massive mobilization” against Israel’s plan to illegally annex a large part of the West Bank, issuing the call as top diplomats from Muslim and Muslim-majority countries convened to reiterate their support for Palestinian sovereignty and an end to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Speaking at an extraordinary meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on Wednesday evening, Foreign Minister Retno L.P. Marsudi said that the member countries should work together to mobilize support for Palestine and hedge against any internal divisions over the contentious issue. “Our voice should be solid to prevent the formal annexation from happening,” Retno said in her speech.
She said any such move during the COVID-19 pandemic will double the pressure on Palestine, damage the peace process, and threaten regional stability.
She stressed the annexation, whether in a “de facto” or “formal” manner, is unacceptable and proposed three steps to mobilize support for Palestine.
“Firstly, if Israel carries on with the annexation, OIC countries with diplomatic relations with Israel should take diplomatic measures in accordance with various OIC resolutions,” said Marsudi.
Secondly, she said the OIC must raise international support against the Israeli annexation at international and multilateral forums, including the UN General Assembly, UN Security Council, and the Human Rights Council.
“Lastly, we must encourage the resumption of credible negotiations guided by internationally agreed parameters with the aim to achieve two-state solutions,” she added.
The foreign minister said Indonesia supports the two-state solution and believes it is the only way to keep the Palestinian-Israeli peace process alive and take it forward.
Photo: A protester holds a sign during a rally to condemn U.S. President Donald Trumps’s decision to recognise Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, at Monas, the national monument, in Jakarta, Indonesia, December 17, 2017. REUTERS/Darren Whiteside
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