Indonesia Promises To Add 3 Times Aid For Palestine

Minister of Foreign Affairs Retno Marsudi (right) met UNRWA Commissioner General Philippe Lazzarini (left) in Geneva, Switzerland, on Wednesday (13/12/2023). (ANTARA/HO-platform X Menlu_RI)

JAKARTA - The Indonesian government promised to increase the amount of contribution to the United Nations Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) by three times.

The commitment was conveyed by the Indonesian Minister of Foreign Affairs Retno Marsudi in a meeting with UNRWA Commissioner General Philippe Lazzarini in Geneva, Switzerland, on Wednesday (13/12).

"I convey, as a form of Indonesia's support for UNRWA, Indonesia has decided to increase its voluntary contribution three times to UNRWA," said Retno when delivering an online press statement regarding her meeting with Lazzrini as reported by ANTARA, Thursday, December 14.

Retno previously emphasized that Indonesia would continue to support the struggle of the Palestinian people, including by providing humanitarian assistance whose allocation reached IDR 3 billion per year through UNRWA.

"UNRWA also expects Indonesia to use its influence so that support for UNRWA can continue to be obtained from other countries," said Retno.

UNRWA has just issued a report on December 12, 2023, whose entire data shows a very bad humanitarian situation in Gaza, during fighting between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas group.

In the report, UNRWA said 1.9 million people or more than 85 percent of Gaza's population had fled, some of them even had to flee more than once.

"Families must continue to move, moving from one place to another for safety," Retno said, based on talks with Lazzarini.

Between 7 October-11 December 2023, according to data from the Gaza health ministry, 18,205 Palestinians were killed with 70 percent of them being women and children. In addition, more than 49,645 people were injured.

While in the West Bank, the United Nations Humanitarian Affairs Coordination Office (OCHA) noted that 265 Palestinians, 69 of them children, had been killed by the Israeli Security Forces (ISF).

As of December 11, 2023, a total of 134 people working for UNRWA, which means working for humanity, have also been killed.