Seeking calm and peace: A pro-Palestinian supporter holding the Palestinian flag while taking part in a rally calling for an end to the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, outside the US Embassy in Jakarta. — Reuters
THE government will evacuate its citizens from Palestine once the situation is safe to do so, said Foreign Affairs Minister Retno Marsudi and contingency plans are being worked on to ensure they return safely.
Efforts by the archipelago to bring home its people are running concurrently with those of other countries in the region, as nations including Singapore advise their citizens to leave Israel as soon as possible via available commercial options.
Retno told reporters on the sidelines of the Archipelagic and Island States Forum in Jakarta that Indonesia already has data on the number of its citizens in the conflict area.
“There is an evacuation plan, but the situation does not yet allow for movement,” she said, adding that support has been requested from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in evacuating Indonesians.
There are 45 Indonesians currently in Palestine, and 10 of them are in the Gaza Strip, which has become the main target of the Israeli military’s airstrikes.
There are also 230 Indonesians currently carrying out religious tourism activities in several locations in Israel.
Indonesia has also made contact with Brazil, which currently holds the presidency of the United Nations Security Council as well as the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, said Retno.
She added that officials are also in touch with their counterparts from the Philippines, which has an embassy in Israel.
Indonesia, the world’s largest Muslim-majority country, has no official diplomatic relationship with Israel.
In order to ensure its people return home safely, Indonesia’s Foreign Affairs Ministry is also preparing to evacuate citizens through countries closest to Palestine, namely Jordan, Lebanon and Egypt.
“Currently, the Indonesian government, through the Indonesian embassies in Amman, Beirut and Cairo, is coordinating with various parties to evacuate Indonesian citizens who are in the Palestinian territory,” said the ministry’s spokesman, Lalu Muhamad Iqbal, as quoted by local media on Tuesday.
Thailand has said that more than 3,000 of its nationals in Israel have expressed their desire to return home.
There are 30,000 Thai workers in Israel, with about 5,000 of them in the conflict area.
Twenty-one have died as a result of the recent attacks.
Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Jakkapong Sangmanee said that the return of these bodies cannot be done until Israeli forces have fully secured areas affected by the conflict.
According to Agence France-Presse, Hamas has seized around 150 people as hostages, including 11 Thai nationals.
Arrangements for some Thai citizens to return home have been made, and the first batch of 15 arrived home yesterday. This group includes those who are injured but fit for travel. —The Straits Times/ANN
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