Jakarta: Indonesian Foreign Affairs Minister Retno Marsudi emphasized that the Palestinian people have the right to their independence based on a two-state solution.
At a United Nations Security Council (UNSC) meeting in New York on Wednesday (November 29), Marsudi stated that the humanitarian pause, which temporarily stopped the war between Israel and the Palestinian militant group, Hamas, was the right momentum to restart the peace process.
“Considering that today we commemorate the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian people, we must not close our eyes or remain silent about the struggle of the Palestinian people,” Marsudi noted in her video statement.
The minister remarked that this year, all foreign ministers of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) that attended the UNSC meeting in New York commemorated the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People that falls on November 29 every year.
During the commemoration, Indonesian President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) also delivered a message that reaffirmed Indonesia’s support for the struggle of the Palestinian people.
During a special meeting with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, the OIC foreign ministers also underscored the importance of producing a stronger UNSC resolution, focusing on humanitarian issues.
“We raised important issues related to the ceasefire. We also discussed about opening other access for sending humanitarian aid and the importance of simplifying security checks to distribute the aid more quickly since it is urgently needed,” Marsudi remarked.
Meanwhile, during a bilateral meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, she remarked that both parties shared the same views regarding the importance of a ceasefire, easy access to humanitarian aid, and also the importance of resuming the peace process.
Marsudi then urged Wang Yi, who also serves as the UNSC president, to pay attention to West Bank, where violence continues to occur, even during the humanitarian pause.
She criticized that the number of prisoners released by Israel during its humanitarian break with Hamas is equal to the number of Palestinians recently arrested in the West Bank. “That is why a strong message must come from the UN Security Council and an end to violence and genocide must start now,” she stressed.
