August 5, 2024
JAKARTA – Former vice president Jusuf Kalla paid his last respects to Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh at his funeral in Doha, Qatar, on Friday and called for an end to the Israel-Hamas conflict during his visit.
Haniyeh was killed on Wednesday in an Israeli strike, according to Iran’s Revolutionary Guards and Hamas. Israel has yet to comment on the claim.
In a video shared by Kalla’s side, the former vice president joined the funeral prayer procession for Haniyeh at Qatar’s largest mosque, Imam Abdul Wahhab, in Doha and attended his burial at Luseil, north of Doha, alongside Haniyeh’s family, Hamas officials and political figures from Turkey, Pakistan and Malaysia.
“This [gathering of many people] shows that we all support the Palestinian struggle as well as the effort to resolve the conflict [between Palestine and Israel] fairly,” Kalla said in a separate video statement.
Kalla, who served twice as vice president of Indonesia, under different presidents, was accompanied at the funeral by Din Syamsuddin, a former chairman of one of Indonesia’s largest Muslim organizations, Muhammadiyah; former law and human rights minister Hamid Awaluddin; and Indonesian Ambassador to Qatar Ridwan Hassan.
Haniyeh had been based in Doha before his death.
On Friday evening after attending the funeral, Kalla met Mahmoud al-Aloul, the deputy chairman of the Palestinian political party Fatah and a representative of Fatah in an accord with Palestinian organizations, including rival Hamas, to work together for “national unity” that was brokered by China on July 23.
Kalla told al-Aloul that it was “important for both parties to unify” to achieve international support for Palestine, according to a press release. Al-Aloul reportedly expressed his readiness to do so if Hamas did not prioritize the formation of a joint government in Palestine.
Read also: Indonesia hails China-led deal on Palestinian unity
Kalla, who met with Haniyeh on July 13, is set to follow up the discussions with both Fatah and Hamas in future meetings.
Haniyeh’s death has elicited a long list of condolences from global leaders, including President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, who condemned the killing as “intolerable” on Thursday.
In Jakarta and Palembang, South Sumatra, on Saturday, groups held demonstrations condemning the assassination.
Rising tensions
The killing of the Hamas leader has sparked fears of a regional war in the Middle East involving Iran and its allies, which support Palestine amid the Israel-Palestine conflict, which was reignited on Oct. 7 of last year through a Hamas attack on Israel.
Israel ally the United States said it would move warships and fighter jets to the region, while Western governments called on their citizens to leave Lebanon, where the powerful Iran-backed Hezbollah movement is based, AFP reported.
Read also: Fears of Middle East war grow after Hamas leader’s killing
Haniyeh’s killing on Wednesday came only hours after the Israeli military assassinated Hezbollah’s leader Fuad Shukr in Beirut, Lebanon. Hezbollah, which has traded fire with Israel since October of last year, was hit again on Saturday in another deadly Israeli raid in the occupied West Bank.
European countries have called for the “utmost restraint” from countries in the region to avoid an all-out war. Major airlines from Europe have also suspended flights to Tehran, Beirut and Tel Aviv.
In Doha, Kalla expressed his concern about a bigger regional conflict in the Middle East.
“Iran and Turkey, I think, have strong military capabilities, but starting a bigger war [against Israel] might destroy the Middle East,” Kalla said.
Siti Mutiah Setiawati, a Middle East expert from Gadjah Mada University (UGM), said on Sunday that Kalla’s visit was not only good to show Indonesia’s support for Palestine but also highly needed to remind leaders in the region to “not avenge [the death] to avoid worsening the situation”.