Cabinet Secretary: Indonesia Prioritizes Palestine’s Independence

Cabinet Secretary Pramono Anung speaks to reporters

In response to the request made by Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu who called for an official tie between Indonesia and Israel, Cabinet Secretary Pramono Anung said that Indonesia upholds the principles in the Constitution and the principles held by its founding fathers: prioritizing the independence of Palestine.

“If Palestine’s independence can be realized, it means our demand is met and Indonesia will certainly be open to consider (an official tie with Israel),” Pramono said to reporters in Jakarta on Tuesday (29/04).

However, Pramono added that Indonesia will only ‘consider’ the idea and not ‘approve’ it because somehow Indonesia does not wish to be ‘trapped’ in the issue.

“The most important thing is the spirit to bring independence for Palestine and it is Indonesia’s priority,” Pramono explained.

For the record, Netanyahu conveyed his country’s intention to embark on an official tie with Indonesia during a meeting with a delegation of Indonesian journalists visiting Israel on Monday (28/3).

“The time has come for official relations between Indonesia and Israel,” Netanyahu said as quoted by Times of Israel on Tuesday (29/3).

“We have many opportunities for bilateral cooperation in the fields of water technology and high-tech,” he added.

The Prime Minister went on to say that half of Israel’s total land area is covered with desert and it also does not receive much rain; yet, Israel does not suffer from water shortage and even has an oversupply of water for its neighboring countries.

“All country needs water and so does Indonesia. We can cooperate in the field,” he added.

Netanyahu further said that both Indonesia and Israel share the same interest to fight terrorism and added that it is one of the reasons why an official tie between Indonesia and Israel is important.

“It is time to change our relationship (between Israel and Indonesia). The reasons that prevented this are no longer relevant,” Netanyahu said, adding that Jerusalem and Jakarta are ‘allies’ to fight against threats of terrorism.  (DND/AGG/ES) (Naster/YM/EP)