Jakarta. Indonesia -- a staunch supporter of Palestine -- told the United States and its fellow ASEAN members on Saturday that the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza had become something that the world must not ignore.

Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi was attending ASEAN-US ministerial talks in Laos on Saturday local time. The US sent Secretary of State Antony Blinken to the meeting. Retno told the conference that Indonesia wants ASEAN and the US -- whom Jakarta considers to be on good terms -- to also contribute to global peace. Indonesia even urged both sides to consistently be “guardians of the international laws”.

“When we talk about respecting international law, it should be applied to all. It should be applied in the Ukraine issue, South China Sea, and certainly for Palestine,” Retno said.

“In Palestine, for example, we cannot continue closing our eyes to the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza. As we speak now, almost 40,000 people have died. We need a ceasefire. We need a sustainable peace to stop this human suffering,” she stated.

Blinken, who spoke right after Retno, also talked about the Gaza crisis with his statement mainly focusing on closing the ceasefire deal proposed by the recent US-sponsored resolution. 

“We were very gratified that the entire world came out in support of that proposal, including -- something we rarely see these days -- the UN Security Council,” Blinken said.

He added: “We are working intensely every single day to bring that proposal to a conclusion so that we get the ceasefire, we get the return of hostages, we get a path to more enduring peace and security.  We’re grateful for the support of so many countries around this table for that effort, and we’re determined to see it over the finish line.”

The UN Security Council last month passed a resolution on a three-phase ceasefire deal in Gaza. The text states that the deal shall begin with a six-week ceasefire and the release of hostages, among others. It also calls for the Israeli forces to leave populated areas in Gaza. The US was the one who tabled the document after episodes of Washington blocking the UN Security Council from passing a ceasefire resolution. 

The US is known to be a major defender of Israel. The recent Laos ministerial conference took place just a few days after US President Joe Biden hosted a state visit from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House. Netanyahu’s visit also sparked waves of protests in Washington.

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