On October 13, Israel and Indonesia had planned to announce the opening of trade offices in each other’s countries as a step in the direction of full diplomatic relations. The announcement was postponed indefinitely after the Hamas attacks, which have left the world’s largest Muslim-majority country skittish about ties with the Jewish state. At the same time, dealings between Jerusalem and Jakarta changed their focus to the more urgent issue of getting Indonesian citizens—including two influential social-media personalities dedicated to exposing Israel’s supposed mistreatment of Palestinians—out of the Gaza Strip. Lahav Harkov reports:
Muhammad Husein, the founder of the NGO International Networking for Humanitarian, who runs a YouTube channel called “Muhammad Husein Gaza” with over 1.2 million followers, . . . sought to leave Gaza with his wife and two children, ages nine and four. Another three volunteers at the NGO-run Indonesian Hospital in Gaza were on the list, though they decided to stay.
Husein claimed on YouTube that “Israel wants to drop a nuclear bomb on Gaza. It comes from the mouths of people who have the DNA of genocide perpetrators,” he said of the people who were working to rescue him.
Eventually Husein made it out via Egypt, thanks to Israel’s intense behind-the-scenes efforts, as did several other Indonesian citizens. Harkov continues:
The IDF [later] raided the Indonesian Hospital, finding Hamas tunnels, weapons, and a hostage’s car on the premises. The Indonesian foreign minister Retno Marsudi condemned the operation as “a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law,” taking part in a pro-Palestinian demonstration attended by 100,000 in Jakarta that day.
Indonesia joined South Africa’s suit at the International Court of Justice in January, claiming Israel is committing genocide against Palestinians—even though Jakarta is not a party to the 1948 Geneva Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. . . . Despite the rhetoric against Israel from Jakarta, there have been new indications of a possible warming of ties in recent weeks.
Read more on Jewish Insider: https://jewishinsider.com/2024/03/indonesia-israel-gaza-hamas-aid-workers-rescue/