Erric Permana
18 July 2019•Update: 18 July 2019
JAKARTA, Indonesia
Indonesia strongly condemned Israeli violations in Jerusalem and called for a boycott on Israeli goods, the country's Foreign Ministry said on Thursday.
Addressing an extraordinary ministerial meeting of the Organization of the Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, Deputy Foreign Minister Abdurrahman Mohammad Fachir said Israel's actions undermined the possibility of a future two-state solution.
Fachir stressed that it was important for OIC states to maintain the legal status of Jerusalem under international law and called on members to urge Israel against its violations.
"As a member of the current UNESCO Executive Board, Indonesia calls all OIC member states to maintain and protect the status of the city of Jerusalem that is included in the UNESCO World Heritage List," he said.
Fachir urged the pan-Muslim body to open dialogue with moderate communities in Israel.
"We have to involve all levels of society who share the same views, the moderate Muslim community, Christians and Jews," he underlined.
Boycott on settlement goods
Fachir underscored that efforts to stop Israel must be carried out consistently, mainly through measures of direct economic impact.
Stressing the importance that OIC members boycott Israeli goods produced in the occupied territories, Fachir called on the OIC Secretariat and Islamic Office for the Boycott of Israel to immediately compile a list of products produced in illegal Israeli settlements, "as a basis for the members to implement boycott policies."
After the meeting, the member countries issued a joint statement regarding the support for Palestinian struggle in line with resolutions agreed at the 46th OIC Summit in Abu Dhabi in March 2019 and the 14th OIC Summit in Mecca last May.
Among other things, members resolved to set a date for a conference to raise funds for the implementation of a development plan for Jerusalem, bring Israel's violation against Palestine and the importance of Jerusalem into the international spotlight and provide the OIC with a mandate to consider taking legal procedures against Israel in international institutions.
In addition to Indonesia, OIC member states including Turkey, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Bangladesh, the Maldives and Qatar attended the meeting with ministers or high-level officials.
