VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi held a virtual meeting with the Palestinian Foreign Minister on Tuesday, including discussing the development of the country's situation, which became increasingly alarming after several Arab countries normalized relations with Israel.

"The future of Palestine is becoming increasingly difficult and full of challenges. Without solid international support, they fear that Palestinian political rights will be neglected," Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said in an online media briefing, on Wednesday.

Many consider the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Bahrain's decision to reopen diplomatic relations with Israel is to weaken the Palestinian struggle for independence.

Indonesia understands this move as the intention of the UAE and Bahrain to provide space for negotiations and change approaches to resolve the prolonged conflict between Israel and Palestine.

Indonesia consistently supported Palestinian independence based on a two-state solution and condemns all forms of occupation, human rights violations, and international law committed by Israel.

"I emphasize that Indonesia will continue to provide support for Palestinian cause," Retno emphasized.

Amid the worsening Palestinian situation, Foreign Minister Riad Maliki reported one positive thing, namely the unity between Hamas and Fatah, the two largest Palestinian factions with a history of civil war.

"The Palestinian Foreign Minister explained that the two factions are in talks that will lead to implementing the Palestinian elections,"  Retno said.

The two main Palestinian factions have agreed to hold their first elections in nearly 15 years. The vote will be scheduled for six months under an agreement agreed by Fatah, Palestinian Authority (PA) leader Mahmoud Abbas, and Hamas political chief Ismail Haniya.

Saleh al-Arouri, a top Hamas official, said they reached the agreement during a meeting held in Turkey.

"This time we have reached a real consensus. The divisions have undermined our national goals and we are working to end them," he told the AFP news agency from Istanbul.

The last Palestinian parliamentary elections were held in 2006 when Hamas unexpectedly won. After the 2006 vote, Hamas and Fatah formed a unity government but soon collapsed and bloody clashes erupted in the Gaza Strip between the two factions the following year.

Hamas has since ruled Gaza, while Fatah runs the PA, which is based in the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah. Various reconciliation efforts, including a prisoner swap agreement in 2012 and a short-lived unity government two years later, have failed to close the rift between the two sides. (Antaranews)