President Jokowi Reiterated Indonesia's Strong Support for Palestine

TheIndonesia.co - President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) reiterated that Indonesia has and will always continue to support the people of Palestine in their fight for independence from Israeli occupying forces.

"I would like to once again affirm that Indonesia will always stand by the side of the nation of Palestine in its struggle," he remarked, after dispatching the second batch of humanitarian aid for Palestinians in Gaza at Halim Perdanakusuma Air Base, Jakarta, on Monday.

As published by Antara, Jokowi emphasized that in addition to supporting Palestinians through the distribution of humanitarian assistance, Indonesia has been tenaciously providing political support by lobbying other countries.

The president then noted that Indonesia is one of the countries that was mandated by the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to initiate actions to halt the war in Gaza at the Joint Arab Islamic Extraordinary Summit in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on November 11.

Jokowi took immediate action to follow up the mandate by urging US President Joe Biden to help stop the ongoing war in Gaza during their bilateral meeting at the White House, Washington D.C., on November 13.

Currently, he said, Foreign Affairs Minister Retno Marsudi is in Beijing to seek support from the People's Republic of China for the cause.

Indonesia is investing all-out efforts in the hopes of stopping atrocities, putting an immediate ceasefire in place, and ensuring the smooth running of aid distribution to Palestinians in Gaza, he noted.

"Minister Marsudi has been gathering support because we are one of the countries mandated by the OIC to echo the results of the talks (extraordinary summit) in Saudi Arabia," the president stated.

Since launching an aggression in Gaza in early October this year, Israeli forces have killed over 12 thousand Palestinians, comprising 8,300 women and children. Meanwhile, more than 30 thousand people are reportedly injured.

The devastating armed conflict has also led to the destruction of thousands of infrastructure assets and facilities, including hospitals, mosques, and churches.

The tight blockade imposed by Israeli forces has severed the supply of basic necessities, such as fuel, electricity, and water, to the Palestinian people in Gaza.

Meanwhile, 1,200 Israelis have died since the conflict between the Palestinian Hamas and Israel erupted.