Indonesia urged to block Israel's proposal to relocate the Palestinian population

 

JAKARTA: Indonesia is calling on the international community to stop Israel's plan to remove all residents from Palestine and make the entire area an Israeli settlement.

Israel's Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben Gvir and Minister of Finance, Bezalel Smotrich repeatedly called for the expulsion or migration of 2.3 million Palestinians from Gaza.

The Israeli-Palestinian war, which is now more than three months old, has seen Israeli air and ground attacks kill at least 22,600 people, injure nearly 60,000 others and destroy much of the infrastructure.

Ben Gvir said, the war in Gaza provides an opportunity to focus on encouraging the migration of the people of Gaza which is described as a correct, fair, moral and humane solution.

At the same time, Smotrich said, Israel will control the territory of the Gaza Strip permanently and urges the transfer of Gazans to countries that agree to accept them as refugees.

The statement sparked international outrage because the forced evacuation of civilians from occupied territory is prohibited under the Geneva Conventions and can be prosecuted as a war crime.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Indonesia said in a statement that the plan leads to the neglect of the rights of the Palestinian people and violates international law.

"Indonesia condemns and rejects the statement made by two Israeli ministers who called for Gaza residents to be expelled or forcibly relocated before starting the construction of Jewish settlements in Gaza.

"The international community must prevent this agenda from becoming a reality," he said.

In fact, Indonesia's Foreign Minister, Retno Marsudi, has raised that concern at one of the United Nations (UN) meetings in Geneva recently.

Indonesia is a staunch supporter of Palestine with its people and government seeing Palestinian statehood as a mandate upheld in their own Constitution, which calls for the abolition of colonialism.

Israel's relentless bombardment of Gaza over the past three months has destroyed about 70 percent of Gaza's homes, according to a report last week by the Wall Street Journal.

Much of the water, electricity and healthcare infrastructure that makes the region work is now beyond repair. - AGENCIES