Jakarta – Indonesia has urged the international community, especially the Arab and Muslim world, to sever all economic, trade and investment ties with Israel as a means of pressuring the country to end its aggression against Palestine.
The demands were voiced by Deputy Foreign Minister Muhammad Anis Matta at the Extraordinary Summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and the Arab League in Saudi Arabia on Nov. 12.
The summit was chaired by Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Prince Mohammed bin Salman and attended by representatives from OIC and Arab League member states, such as Algeria, Iran, Lebanon, Egypt, Palestine and Turkey.
"We call for a continuation of the severing of economic, trade and investment ties with Israel and companies linked to global Zionism," Anis told the summit in fluent Arabic on Monday, as broadcast by the Indonesian Embassy in Riyadh on its YouTube account @KBRIRiyadh.
To put further pressure on Israel, Anis also called on OIC and Arab League member states to stop all Israeli projects in their countries.
Anis also pushed for Muslim and Arab countries to strengthen economic activities and enlarge trade volumes with each other as a way to make up any potential loss.
"Especially in products produced in Arab and Muslim countries," he said.
Anis recommended the formation of a global alliance between the Global South and other nations that support Palestinian independence.
"At the same time, we also call for all forms of resistance by Palestinian factions to be viewed as the legal right of every oppressed nation and not as 'acts of terrorism'," Anis said.
He also advocated for political and diplomatic pressure on Israel to end its war in Gaza and Lebanon, including rejecting the normalization of relations and pushing for Israel's expulsion from the United Nations.
Anis reminded OIC members that the Palestinian struggle was central to the organization's formation and urged them to take action to support Palestinian independence.
"Words must be immediately translated into real action, including ensuring continued humanitarian assistance for Palestine," he added.
In addition to launching a genocide in the Palestinian territory of Gaza, the Israeli military and illegal settlers have also been harassing, torturing and kidnapping Palestinians and raiding Palestinian towns in the West Bank.
The Israeli military has also launched a military operation in southern Lebanon on the pretext of disarming the Iran-backed Hezbollah resistance group.
Many extremist far-right politicians in Israel, including Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, have called for the annexation of Israel's neighbors into a so-called Greater Israel.
Israeli soldiers have been pictured wearing a patch depicting a Greater Israel map which includes the entirety of Jordan, Lebanon and Palestine, as well as parts of Egypt, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Syria and Turkey.
Turkish President Tayyip Recep Erdogan severed all ties with Israel on Nov. 13, while many Arab countries still maintain relations with the Zionist regime.
Egypt signed a peace treaty in 1979, followed by Jordan in 1994, both under United States brokerage.
Bahrain, Morocco, Sudan and the United Arab Emirates all normalized relations with Israel under the so-called Abrahamic Accord, also brokered by the US.
Lebanon missions
In a separate development, the Indonesian Navy's AS565 MBe Panther helicopter passed contingent own equipment (COE) and safety inspections conducted by the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) in Beirut on Nov. 13, the Indonesian Military (TNI) said in a media statement.
The Panther helicopter with tail number HS-1305 is currently on board the KRI Diponegoro corvette, which serves as part of the UNIFIL Maritime Task Force (MTF) as the Garuda Contingent (Konga) XXVIII-O task force.
The inspections were conducted by UNIFIL mission air safety officer Sqn. Ldr. Rashik Reshwan from Bangladesh to review aviation technical, medical and safety equipment, as well as aviation documents.
The inspection found that all equipment was in good condition and fulfilled all requirements needed to carry out the mandated UN missions.
KRI Diponegoro commander Lt. Col. Wirastyo Haprabu said that the COE was not only a legalization process in carrying out the missions but also a result of personnel and materiel development and maintenance by the aviators and crew.
Wirastyo said that all usage of weapons and other materiel have to follow UN operational, training and maintenance standards to support peacekeeping duties.
Meanwhile, the IndoBatt mechanized battalion serving under UNIFIL as Konga XXIII-R continues to carry out its activities and maintain its position. The activities carried out by Indobatt include patrols, guard duties at the tactical operation center, observation posts and main gate, as well as distributing logistics in Indobatt's area of responsibility in southern Lebanon.
Amid the Israeli invasion of Lebanon, sounds of explosions from air and artillery strikes, shots from machine guns and Merkava tanks, as well as sonic booms are continuously heard in the Indobatt area of responsibility.
Incessant Israeli attacks during the past month in Southern Lebanon have damaged logistics distribution routes.
On Oct. 10, the Israeli military shot at an observation post manned by two Indonesian soldiers in Naqoura, causing minor injuries.
The Israeli military has also attacked and destroyed the UNIFIL headquarters main entrance, as well as destroying lamps and cameras installed at observation posts in order to conceal Israeli activities. (nvn)