June 12, 2024
JAKARTA – Indonesia has called on all parties to the Gaza conflict to work quickly to implement a resolution for a three-phase ceasefire in Gaza, as Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto visits Jordan to discuss measures for a coordinated international response to the humanitarian crisis.
On Monday, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) adopted the truce proposal for Gaza, where over 35,000 people have been killed by Israeli military operations triggered by Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, cross-border assault and hostage-taking that killed some 1,200 people.
The resolution came after months of failures by the council to reach an agreement on a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, mostly because of United States vetoes, and amid an increasing international outcry over the deteriorating humanitarian conditions in Gaza.
The adoption of the UNSC resolution was “a long overdue yet important step to stop the ongoing atrocities” against Palestinians and toward achieving an “immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza”, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.
A lasting ceasefire, humanitarian aid for the Palestinian people and a peace process seeking a two-state solution were all contingent on the success of the agreement, the ministry said.
The first phase of the UN plan is to impose a preliminary, six-week ceasefire, during which Israel would withdraw from Gaza’s population centers and Hamas would free some of the Israeli hostages it took in October. The phase also calls for the safe and speedy distribution of humanitarian aid.
The second phase calls for a permanent end to hostilities and the release of the remaining hostages, followed by the final phase, a multi-year reconstruction plan for Gaza.
Israel has reportedly agreed to the resolution, while Hamas has welcomed the vote and reaffirmed its willingness to cooperate with mediators.
UNSC resolutions are binding for member states, although it remains unclear how the ceasefire will be enforced.
For the past eight months, Indonesian diplomats have been on a mission to promote the Palestinian cause, particularly Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi. Jakarta has criticized the UNSC’s failures to respond in a timely manner to worsening conditions in Gaza and has lobbied the council’s members to use their influence to bring about lasting peace in the Middle East.
The efforts to support Palestine intensified after president-elect Prabowo, on behalf of President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, flew to Amman, Jordan, to attend a high-level humanitarian conference on the Gaza conflict on Tuesday.
Prabowo was scheduled to deliver remarks outlining an Indonesian Military (TNI) plan to provide humanitarian aid through the deployment of medical equipment and health workers.
Previously, Prabowo said Indonesia stood ready to provide sanctuary for 1,000 Palestinians affected by the Gaza war, although he did not provide details of the arrangement. Indonesia is not a signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention, so is not legally obliged to take in refugees.
Prior to the emergency conference – organized jointly by Jordan, Egypt and the UN – Prabowo met with Jordan’s King Abdullah to convey Indonesia’s concerns about the Israeli offensive in Gaza, highlighting the war’s mounting death toll.
Earlier this month, Prabowo said the three-phase peace deal to end the war in Gaza was a step in the right direction and proposed to send peacekeeping troops, if necessary, to enforce the planned ceasefire.
“When needed and when requested by the UN, we are prepared to contribute significant peacekeeping forces to maintain and monitor this prospective ceasefire, as well as provide protection and security to all parties and all sides,” he said last week at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore.
Foreign Minister Retno, meanwhile, was in Norway to attend the Oslo Forum on Tuesday, just one day after attending a Developing Eight Organization for Economic Cooperation (D8) meeting that also addressed Gaza.
The meeting of the D8, an alliance of mostly Muslim-majority countries including Bangladesh, Malaysia, Nigeria and Pakistan, saw members call on the US to cease its vetoes of full Palestinian membership of the UN.
The group also called on all countries to “exert diplomatic, political, economic and legal pressure on Israel”.
In his speech for the Amman meeting, UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres said, “The horror must stop. It is high time for a ceasefire along with the unconditional release of hostages.”
“I welcome the peace initiative recently outlined by US President [Joe] Biden and urge all parties to seize this opportunity and come to an agreement,” Guterres said. “And I call on all parties to respect their obligations under international humanitarian law. That includes facilitating the delivery of humanitarian aid both into and inside Gaza, as they have committed.”