President Jokowi Urges the Israeli-Palestinian War to Stop Immediately

Screenshot/President Joko Widodo when delivering a statement regarding the current situation of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which was broadcast on the YouTube account of the Presidential Secretariat of the Republic of Indonesia

JAKARTA - President Joko Widodo urged that the war between Israel and Palestine be stopped immediately, to avoid increasing casualties and the destruction of property.

"Because the escalation of conflict can have a greater humanitarian impact," said President Jokowi when delivering a press statement regarding the current situation of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which was broadcast on the Presidential Secretariat YouTube account, reported by ANTARA, Tuesday, October 10.

President Jokowi said he had asked Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi and related ministries/agencies to immediately take quick action to protect Indonesian citizens in conflict areas.

"The pillar of the conflict, namely the occupation of the Palestinian territories by Israel, must be resolved immediately according to the parameters agreed by the United Nations," said Jokowi.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that it was preparing a contingency plan for the evacuation of Indonesian citizens with several scenarios of the situation.

This scenario includes the possibility of evacuating Indonesian citizens through the closest Palestinian countries, namely Jordan, Lebanon, and Egypt.

"Currently the government, through the Indonesian Embassy in Amman, the Indonesian Embassy in Beirut, and the Indonesian Embassy in Cairo, are coordinating with various parties to evacuate Indonesian citizens in the Palestinian territories, especially 10 Indonesian citizens who are in the Gaza Strip," said the spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Lalu Muhamad Iqbal.

Based on data from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, it was recorded that 45 Indonesian citizens were in Palestine, with 10 of them in the Gaza Strip which was the target of Israeli military airstrikes.

In addition to the dozens of Indonesian citizens, there are as many as 230 Indonesian citizens who are conducting religious tourism at various points in Israel and so far there have been no reports of Indonesian citizens being victims.

The Hamas armed group stormed the Israel-Gaza border fence from Gaza on Saturday (7/10), killing Israeli soldiers and civilians and holding dozens of people hostage in the Palestinian enclave.

Israel responded by launching a massive bombing in Gaza and possibly continued with ground attacks on territory they had abandoned nearly two decades ago after 38 years of occupancy.

The Hamas attack left 800 Israelis dead and more than 2,500 injured, while more than 500 Palestinians have been killed and more than 3,000 injured in Israeli airstrikes.

The United Nations for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) stated that currently there are nearly 74,000 refugees in 64 UNRWA shelters, and this number is likely to increase as massive shootings and airstrikes continue, including in civilian areas.