Ministry Of Foreign Affairs: 35 Indonesian Tourists Will Soon Return From Israel

Photo archive - Director of Protection for Indonesian Citizens and Indonesian Legal Entities (BHI) of the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Judha Nugraha. (ANTARA/Yashinta Difa/aa.)

JAKARTA - The Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that as many as 35 religious tourists from Indonesia will soon be repatriated from Israel, amid the escalation of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. "“ There are still 35 Indonesian citizens who carry out religious tourism and we will facilitate (the return) on October 14, 2023. We will help with the exit access,” said the Director of Protection for Indonesian Citizens and BHI of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Judha Nugraha at a press conference in Jakarta, Antara, Friday, October 13. Since the eruption of the latest conflict between Israel and Palestine triggered by the Hamas militant group on October 7, 2023, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs noted that 231 Indonesian tourists had left Israeli territory on October 9, 2023. Furthermore, the government also recorded 38 of 44 Indonesian tourists leaving Israel and entering Jordan on October 11, 2023 and October 12, 2023, so that a total of 313 Indonesian tourists had managed to get out of the conflict area. The return of hundreds of Indonesian citizens to the country was carried out independently through travel agents who arranged their tourist agenda, including for departure and return. The role of the government, in this case, is to facilitate the return process by ensuring that all Indonesian citizens can cross the border from Israel to Jordan and help negotiate with airlines. The Indonesian government has issued a travel advisory appeal for Indonesian citizens who have plans to visit or travel religiously to Israel and Palestine, in order to postpone their journey until the situation is safer.

The government also appealed to Indonesian citizens living in Israel and Palestine to leave the region immediately, to anticipate the worsening of the security and humanitarian situation.