In his statement when he arrived in Tel Aviv in October 2023, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken promised steps to improve Israel’s security and underlined strong US support for Israel’s right to defend itself. This was echoed by the European allies. The European Commission president Ursula van der Leyen also mentioned Israel’s right to repel repeated attacks by Hamas. She said that the European Union will always supports the Israeli government. British prime minister Rishi Sunak also issued similar statement.
These statements by US officials and their European allies show a double standard (hypocrisy), and risk further derailing the peace efforts they have pursued for almost three decades. Hamas is indeed in the wrong to have provoked Israel by launching an attack on its soil, but it cannot be entirely blamed.
What Hamas was doing is simply reminding world leaders that the Palestinian-Israeli problem is colonialism that has lasted for more than five decades and that a permanent solution has to be found immediately. The US should try to reduce tensions between the two warring parties and take necessary steps to resume the peace process which has been dormant since 2010. Through UN Security Council Resolution 242 and 338 the concept of “land for peace” must be revived.
The recurring conflicts are the result of the silence of the US, UN and the international community regarding Israel’s oppression of the Palestinian people. This calls for immediate return to two-state solution through diplomacy and negotiation. A balanced and solution-oriented US stance is being awaited by the international community, which is weary of seeing wars and longs for a peaceful and just world. On the other hand, a lopsided and biased US attitude towards one of the parties in the conflict will actually create widespread anti-US sentiment throughout the world, and make the conflict even more complicated to solve.
Indonesia Government consistency
From the beginning, the Indonesian government rejected Israel’s existence for normative and historical reasons. Normatively, because the Zionist state was born out of colonialism, and this is contrary to the first paragraph of the Preamble to the 1945 Constitution which states that independence is the inalienable right of all nations and calls for the abolition of colonialism throughout the world.
Indonesia does not have formal diplomatic relations with Israel, and will not open diplomatic relations as long as Israel still colonizes the Palestinian people. The Indonesian government also prohibits the flying of the Israeli flag and the singing of the Israeli national anthem on its territory as per Foreign Ministerial Regulation 3/2019.
Historically, the Indonesian government and its people support the Palestinian Arabs because the Palestinians were the first to recognize and support Indonesian independence, as represented by Sheikh Muhammad Al Husseini, a Palestinian grand mufti. This support was even carried out a year before Soekarno-Hatta actually proclaimed the independence of the Republic of Indonesia. On September 6, 1944, via Arabic-language Berlin radio, Al Husseini congratulated the entire Islamic world on the occasion of Japan’s recognition of Indonesia’s independence.
In addition, a rich Palestinian merchant of the era, Muhammad Taher, even voluntarily handed over all his money at Bank Arabia to aid the Indonesian independence struggle. After the recognition by Palestine, Egypt followed suit, with the support of the Al Ikhwan Al Muslimun group, which urged the government of King Farouk to recognize the independence of the Republic of Indonesia on March 22, 1946. This galvanized other Arab states – Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan – and the Arab League to also state their support, on November 18, 1946. This historical fact is the reason why the Indonesian government must continue to support the Palestinian struggle for independence.
In the modern era, in response to the humanitarian tragedy in Gaza which emerged as a result of the Hamas-Israel conflict, the Indonesian government called for an end to the conflict and pushed for a permanent ceasefire to prevent more civilian and military casualties, as well as widespread damage to infrastructure. For this reason, Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi has been active in diplomatic engagements through UN multilateral forums and other international organizations, and continues to play a role as a mediator, facilitator and motivator to encourage constructive dialogue between Palestine and Israel.
The Indonesian government’s next stance is diplomacy in finding a solution to end the conflict through a two-state solution, namely, the establishment of a Palestinian state that coexists peacefully with Israel in accordance with UN Security Council Resolution 242 and 338. In addition to diplomacy, other concrete actions taken by the Indonesian government and people include trying to provide humanitarian assistance to alleviate the suffering of the Palestinians. In terms of capacity building, the Indonesian government, since the administration of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, has provided scholarships to hundreds of Palestinian students to study at various state universities in Indonesia, in the fields of medicine, agriculture, tourism, information technology and manufacturing.
Meanwhile, from a humanitarian perspective, the social humanitarian activist group Medical Emergency Rescue-Committee (MER-C) has succeeded in building an Indonesian Hospital in Beit Lahiya, North Gaza, even though it has now been destroyed by an Israeli aerial strike. The continuous support of the Indonesian government and people for the Palestinian Arab people will go down in history not only for the struggle for Palestinian independence, but also humanity