VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Jazuli Juwaini, legislator and politician. (Dokumentasi Jazuli Juwaini) - 

The member of Indonesia's House of Representatives (DPR), Jazuli Juwaini has urged the United Nations and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation to hold emergency meetings on ending Israel’s “brutality” against Palestinians.

He urged the United Nations and other international organizations to make utmost efforts to stop Israeli “aggression and brutality against Palestinians”.

The ongoing Israel-Palestinian crisis must not be regarded as a conflict between two states, he said. All countries must focus on ending the Jewish state's attacks, he added.

Palestine is the only nation that remains colonized in this modern era, while others have gained their independence and are enjoying their freedom, Juwaini said.

The fate of the Palestinian people remains the biggest human tragedy in the history of mankind, he remarked and lauded the Indonesian government's endless support for the Palestinians' struggle for independence.

The Israel-Palestine conflict again grabbed international headlines after Israeli forces raided the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in the final days of the holy month of Ramadhan and launched airstrikes on Gaza.

According to Al Jazeera, prior to Israel’s bombing of the besieged Gaza Strip, which claimed the lives of 56 Palestinians, including 14 children, and wounded at least 300 others, Israeli security personnel attacked worshippers at the Al-Aqsa Mosque with "rubber-coated steel rounds, stun grenades, and tear gas”.

The raid was triggered by what Al Jazeera described as the Jewish government's plans to "forcefully expel Palestinians from the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood in occupied East Jerusalem to make way for Israeli settlers".

Indonesian President Joko Widodo vociferously denounced the use of force against Palestinian worshippers at the Al-Aqsa Mosque, which is considered the third-holiest site by Muslims after Mecca and Medina, and the forced eviction of Palestinian families from their homes in Sheikh Jarrah.

"The forced evictions of Palestinians from Sheikh Jarrah, East Jerusalem, and the use of force against Palestinian civilians at Al-Aqsa Mosque should not be ignored. Indonesia condemns these actions," Widodo said on his Twitter account @jokowi early this week.

According to the head of state, Indonesia has urged the UN Security Council to take action on repeated violations committed by Israel.

Indonesia will continue to side with the Palestinian people in their struggle for independence, he averred.

Jakarta's political stance on the Palestinian issue has remained unchanged since the era of President Soekarno.

In 1962, the founding father of Indonesia had made a statement that has continued to guide Indonesia’s foreign policy on Palestinian issues.

"As long as the freedom of Palestine is yet to be returned to the Palestinians, Indonesia will forever stand in defiance against the occupation by Israel," Soekarno had stated//ANT