Foreign Minister Retno: Palestine Has the Right to Independence, Don't Close Your Eyes or Remain Silent

JAKARTA - Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi reiterated Palestine's right to independence, while attending the UN Security Council meeting in New York, United States, Wednesday local time.

"The Palestinian people have the right to independence based on a two-state solution. Now is the right time to restart the peace process," said Foreign Minister Retno in her speech at a council meeting discussing the current situation in Gaza, according to a statement from the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Thursday, November 30.

The meeting was held on the occasion of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People. International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People is celebrated every November 29. The warning is related to UN Resolution 181 regarding a two-state solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

"And considering that today we commemorate the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, we must not close our eyes or remain silent about the struggle of the Palestinian people," said Foreign Minister Retno.

Foreign Minister Retno attended the meeting along with a number of foreign ministers from member countries of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), to show the organization's support for Palestine, as a follow-up to the mandate of the OIC leadership at the summit in Riyadh on November 11.

Foreign Minister Retno added that the Indonesian President also delivered a written message at the commemoration, which essentially reaffirmed Indonesia's support for the struggle of the Palestinian people.

As previously reported, in a speech before member countries of the UN Security Council, Foreign Minister Retno said that Indonesia welcomed the current ceasefire between the Palestinian militant group Hamas and Israel.

"But the question is is this enough? Indonesia believes that this is not enough, because the humanitarian pause is still too narrow and fragile to really create a situation

"Gaza will be better on an ongoing basis," said Foreign Minister Retno.

On this occasion, Foreign Minister Retno also quoted Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu's statement that he wanted to continue military operations with full force when the ceasefire in Gaza ended.

"I say that I cannot understand a statement like this. I also cannot understand if the UNSC allows this threat to humanity to eventually become a reality. The UNSC must be able to prevent violence from recurring in Gaza," stressed Foreign Minister Retno.