Jakarta. Indonesia continues to show its rock-solid support for Palestine as the Southeast Asian country pushes for a two-state solution while also sending much-needed humanitarian assistance to Gaza.

The two-state solution sees Israel and Palestine living side by side as two independent states. Over the past weeks, Indonesia has been going back and forth to international forums to call for a peace process that can eventually lead to realizing the two-state solution. 

Indonesia was among the 120 countries that voted in favor of the United Nations (UN) General Assembly resolution that called for a humanitarian truce in Gaza in October. Indonesia also wants the UN to cast votes to upgrade Palestine’s status from an observer to a full-fledged member. Indonesia believes a full membership status will put Palestine on equal standing as Israel, which is already a UN member, thus paving the way for a two-state solution based on internationally agreed parameters. Jakarta has also been urging the UN Security Council to do more to address the Gaza conflict.

“Let us not turn a blind eye or remain silent to the struggles of the innocent people in Gaza, whose only sin here is being born Palestinian,” Foreign Affairs Minister Retno Marsudi said when closing her national statement at the recent UN Security Council meeting in New York on Wednesday local time.

Senior diplomat Bagus Hendraning Kobarsyih not long ago told the 2023 Peacemaker Forum that “Indonesia will continue to support Palestine’s independence through various means."

According to Bagus, other forms of support include strengthening bilateral ties with the Palestinian government, be it via capacity building, trade, and education cooperation, among others. Humanitarian assistance is also as important with many Palestinians in desperate need of supplies. Bagus said that Indonesia had already been providing aid to Palestine since 2008. 

After the conflict escalated on Oct. 7, Indonesia deployed its first batch of logistics aid amounting to 51.5 tons on Nov. 4. The assistance included injury kits, and food, among others. Indonesia also sent another 21 tons of humanitarian aid to Palestine about two weeks later. However, humanitarian assistance is still a short-term solution to the Gaza conflict as Indonesia pursues a two-state solution.

“Indonesia will continue to help Palestine achieve independence based on a two-state solution,” Bagus said.

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