Foreign Minister Retno: Evacuation Of Indonesian Citizens From Palestine Waits For A Safe Situation

Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi delivered a press statement after the 5th Meeting of the Minister of AIS Forum in Nusa Dua, Bali, on Tuesday (10/10/2023). (ANTARA/Yashinta Difa)

NUSA Dua - Minister of Foreign Affairs Retno Marsudi said the evacuation of Indonesian citizens (WNI) from Palestine would be carried out when the situation on the ground was safe.

"We already have data (the number of Indonesian citizens), the evacuation plan also exists, it's just that the situation has not allowed any movement to occur," said Retno when met on the sidelines of the AIS Forum Summit in Nusa Dua, Bali, as reported by ANTARA, Wednesday, October 11.

Retno said she had asked for support from the International Red Cross (ICRC) to help evacuate Indonesian citizens from the Gaza Strip in Palestine which was the main target of Israeli military airstrikes.

Intensive communication with various parties, including the ICRC, is intensively carried out by the Indonesian Foreign Minister to ensure the safety and security of Indonesian citizens.

"Because the main priority is to evacuate Indonesian citizens safely," he said.

Apart from the ICRC, Foreign Minister Retno has also been in contact with Brazil as the current President of the UN Security Council, the Organization for Islamic Cooperation (OIC), as well as the Philippines which has an embassy in Tel Aviv, Israel.

Meanwhile, the Indonesian embassies in Amman, Beirut, and Cairo are fully alerted to monitor the development of the situation in conflict areas and to ensure protection for affected Indonesian citizens.

The Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that Indonesia is currently 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 in the Gaza Strip," said the spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Lalu Muhammad Iqbal on Tuesday (10/10).

Based on data from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, currently 45 Indonesian citizens are in Palestine, with 10 of them in the Gaza Strip.

In addition to the dozens of Indonesian citizens, there are also 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.