KN. Indonesian Foreign Affairs Minister Retno Marsudi said she was confident the new government’s administration would also support Palestine in its struggle for independence, as mandated under the 1945 Constitution. Speaking in a public lecture on “Indonesian Diplomacy for Indonesia” at Gadjah Mada University (UGM) in Yogyakarta, Minister Retno Marsudi said Indonesia consistently adheres to universal principles and values to continue supporting the Palestinian state.
Minister Retno suspects strategic and systematic efforts by Israel to “annihilate” Palestine, including preventing a two-state solution, noting more countries should recognize the existence of Palestine. Regarding UNRWA, she said there are systematic efforts to weaken the body, one of which was through accusations of the involvement of several of its staff in Hamas attacks, and the cessation of assistance from donor countries to UNRWA, especially from the United States.
She said that the effort was Israel’s strategic goal to eliminate Palestine’s right of return. The minister also addressed Netanyahu’s outspoken rejection of a two-state solution between Israel and Palestine, while Israeli troops continued to invade Gaza and expand attacks on Rafah, even days after the ICJ ordered it to stop.
In response to President-elect Prabowo Subianto’s statement about Indonesia’s willingness to care for 1,000 injured Palestinians, FM Retno Marsudi said the process of assisting sick Palestinians to leave Gaza would take a long time and could only be implemented under Prabowo’s administration. Retno emphasized that Indonesia is in a position to provide additional humanitarian assistance to Palestine.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said Israel is promoting a governing alternative to Hamas saying that in any process of ending the war, Israel would not allow Hamas to continue ruling Gaza. The Indonesian Military (TNI) is prepared to send peacekeeping troops to the war-torn Gaza if requested by the United Nations, TNI spokesperson Maj. Gen. Nugraha Gumilar.
Minister Retno clarified details about sending peacekeeping troops to the Gaza Strip under U.N. auspices, after Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto conveyed the idea amidst Israel’s massive attacks on Gaza which have been ongoing since last year. “What Prabowo means is of course that if the cease-fire can be realized — the day after — if the United Nations decides to send its peacekeeping troops, then Indonesia is ready to send them,” said Retno, noting Indonesia is one of the largest contributors of U.N. peacekeeping forces.
U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said Israel has shown willingness to agree to a ceasefire and hostage release deal set out by US President Joe Biden and it is up to Hamas to make a move. Sullivan’s comments came despite growing doubts over the plan, which Biden described as an Israeli initiative but has seen mixed reactions from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government. “We’ve seen again over the weekend from Israel a willingness to step forward and do a deal,” Sullivan said.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog was expressed support for the U.S. President Joe Biden’s proposed three-phase cease-fire plan in Gaza in exchange for the release of Israeli hostages and pledged to help the government implement the deal. “I told the Prime Minister that I will give him and the government my full support for a deal which will see the release of the hostages,” wrote Herzog on X.
While defending the Palestinian people, the Indonesian government has firmly and consistently upheld the principles of universal values, Minister of Foreign Affairs Retno Marsudi affirmed. “Until now, the Indonesian government is still strong and consistent in upholding in continuing to defend the Palestinian people. Because of this strength and principle, Indonesia is respected internationally,” she said in Yogyakarta. She made the remarks while delivering a public lecture on “Indonesian Diplomacy for Indonesia” at Gadjah Mada University (UGM) in Yogyakarta.
Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto said on Saturday that Indonesia is ready to send peacekeeping troops to enforce a ceasefire in Gaza if required. Speaking at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore on Saturday, Prabowo said United States President Joe Biden’s three-phase proposal for a ceasefire in Gaza was a step in the right direction. He said President Jokowi had instructed him to announce that Indonesia was also ready “to evacuate, to receive and to treat with medical care up to 1,000 patients” from Gaza.
An aide to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed that Israel had accepted a framework deal for winding down the Gaza war now being advanced by U.S. President Joe Biden, though he described it as flawed and in need of much more work. In an interview with Britain’s Sunday Times, Ophir Falk, chief foreign policy advisor to Netanyahu, said Biden’s proposal was “a deal we agreed to — it’s not a good deal but we dearly want the hostages released, all of them”.
During a meeting between the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and several European countries in Brussels, Belgium, Indonesian Foreign Affairs (Kemlu) Minister Retno Marsudi called on European countries to support the implementation of the two-state solution to end the conflict between Palestine and Israel. “This meeting is very important amid the increasingly deteriorating situation in Palestine and Israel’s increasing disregard for ICJ decisions,” Retno said in a press release Tuesday, referring to decisions made by the ICJ against the recent acts of Israel in the Gaza Strip. Indonesia urged the OIC and European countries to continue to press for an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza.
Indonesia and Malaysia are united in urging Israel to comply with the International Court of Justice (ICJ) decision handed down against Israel. In an OIC meeting that included a number of European countries, FM Marsudi urged Israel to obey the ICJ’s decision to cease attacks on Rafah, as did a press release issued by Malaysia’s foreign ministry.
As a number of countries recognized the State of Palestine, Israel escalated its attacks on Rafah, disregarding international calls. The U.N. Security Council has scheduled an emergency meeting to discuss Israel’s attacks on Rafah, particularly those on the city’s refugee camps. U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres said on social media, “There is no safe place in Gaza. This horror must stop.”
The Biden administration said it was closely monitoring the probe into a deadly Israeli airstrike it called tragic, but that the recent deaths in Rafah didn’t constitute a major ground operation there that crosses any U.S. red lines. “The Israelis have said this is a tragic mistake,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters at the White House, when asked about whether the events over the weekend qualified as the type of “death and destruction” U.S. officials have warned could result in the withholding of more aid to Israel.
The U.S.-built pier on the Gaza Strip coast will be removed for repair after it was damaged by rough seas, causing Washington to temporarily suspend aid deliveries to starving Palestinians via the structure, the Pentagon announced. The pier, which was damaged earlier Tuesday, will be removed from its anchored position on the coast over the next 48 hours, Pentagon deputy press secretary Sabrina Singh told reporters. The structure will be towed to Ashdod in southern Israel where U.S. Central Command will conduct repairs, which are expected to take “at least over a week” before it can be re-anchored to the coast of Gaza, she said.
Indonesia supports an order by the United Nations top court for Israel to halt its military offensive in Rafah, calling on Israel to comply, while Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi is in Brussels to intensify diplomacy with European countries for a permanent solution in Gaza. Indonesia, through the Foreign Affairs Ministry, said on Saturday that Indonesia supported the order by the ICJ, calling on Israel to “immediately comply with the measures ordered by the court” and underlining “the critical role of the U.N. Security Council in ensuring its implementation.” The ministry also said that any allegations of genocide must be investigated.
Israel bombed the Gaza Strip, including Rafah, on Saturday, a day after the top U.N. court ordered it to halt military operations in the southern city. The ICJ also demanded the immediate release of all hostages still held by Palestinian militants, hours after the Israeli military announced troops had recovered the bodies of three more of the captives from northern Gaza. Israel gave no indication it was preparing to change course in Rafah.
Rescue operations were underway Saturday in Israel, as American and Israeli soldiers worked to release two beached U.S. army vessels that had washed ashore while working to build a floating pier outside the Gaza Strip. U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a statement Saturday morning that “heavy sea states” caused four U.S. Army vessels to break free from their moorings. Two of the vessels were anchored by the pier in the Gaza Strip, while two other vessels beached on Israel’s shores. “The IDF is supporting the recovery efforts near the pier,” officials said in a statement. “No U.S. personnel will enter Gaza. No injuries have been reported and the pier remains fully functional. We will release additional details as they become available.”
The Biden administration told Israel to take every precaution to protect civilians after a military strike in Rafah killed dozens of Palestinians, as it faced calls from some fellow Democrats to halt military shipments to Israel. “Israel has a right to go after Hamas, and we understand this strike killed two senior Hamas terrorists who are responsible for attacks against Israeli civilians,” a National Security Council spokesperson said. “But as we’ve been clear, Israel must take every precaution possible to protect civilians. Biden has faced increasing pressure from within his own party to scale back support for Israel, even before the airstrike on Sunday night that set tents and rickety metal shelters ablaze in a Rafah camp, killing 45 people.
France backs the ICC decision. “France supports the International Criminal Court, its independence and the fight against impunity in all situations,” the foreign ministry said in a statement. Israeli Foreign Affairs Minister Israel Katz flew to Paris on Tuesday and is said to be attempting to mitigate the impact of the arrest warrant application.
U.S. officials went on the offensive after the International Criminal Court (ICC) filed arrest warrants against two top Israeli leaders over the war in Gaza, a move that Congress and the White House slammed for equating Israel’s conduct with the Palestinian militant group’s Oct. 7 attack. President Biden and moderate Democrats united with Republicans in Congress to criticize the ICC shortly after the Monday notice that arrest warrants had been filed for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, along with three top Hamas officials.