Retno Marsudi Suspects Systematic Israeli Efforts to End Palestine

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi suspected that there are strategic and systematic efforts by Israel to "end" Palestine, ranging from weakening the UN aid agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) to eliminating the possibility of a two-state solution as a resolution to the conflict.

During a public lecture titled "Indonesian Diplomacy for Palestine: All Eyes on Rafah" at Gadjah Mada University (UGM) in Yogyakarta, she said that UNRWA is being systematically weakened, including through allegations of involvement of some of its personnel in Hamas attacks.

“One of the efforts to weaken UNRWA is the cessation of humanitarian aid from donor countries to UNRWA, especially from the United States,” Retno said as quoted from a live broadcast on the UGM Fisipol YouTube channel on Monday, June 3.

In January 2024, Israel accused 12 people out of 13,000 UNRWA staff in Gaza of involvement in the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, which was then followed by Israeli ongoing aggression in the Palestinian enclave. 

Israel's accusations prompted 16 countries, including the United States as the largest donor, to cut off a total of $450 million in funding to UNRWA, hampering the agency's operations in Palestine. As of April 26, the cases were still under review, with some being closed and postponed due to insufficient evidence.

“Systematic weakening of UNRWA not only worsens services to refugees but strategically aims to eliminate the refugee issue,” Retno said, adding that it was Israel’s strategic objective to eliminate the right of return, which is the political stance asserting that Palestinian refugees and their descendants have the right to return to Palestine and reclaim the property they left behind after being forcibly displaced during the Nakba in 1948 and the Six-Day War in 1967.

The Foreign Minister also mentioned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's outspoken rejection of a two-state solution. Meanwhile, Israeli troops continued their incursion into Gaza, expanding their attacks into Rafah days after the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ordered them to desist.

Moreover, Palestinian membership in the UN continues to be vetoed, and there are systematic efforts by Israel and its allies to “continue to lobby and pressure” Muslim countries to “start thinking about normalizing ties with Israel.” Gaza is no longer habitable, with 70 percent of its infrastructure inoperable.

“In short, the Palestinian situation continues to worsen over time and Israel continues to make several systematic strategic efforts to eliminate Palestine,” she stressed.

Retno Marsudi reiterated Indonesia's commitment to continue supporting Palestine. She outlined Indonesia's priorities in supporting Palestine, including pushing for an immediate and permanent ceasefire, encouraging countries to continue to support UNRWA, providing humanitarian aid to Gaza, ensuring that ICJ orders are obeyed by Israel, and encouraging more countries to recognize the State of Palestine.

NABIILA AZZAHRA

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