Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi was supposed to go to Ramallah for the inauguration, but Israeli occupation forces denied Retno and her accompanying delegation entry into the West Bank.
Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi inaugurated Maha Abu-Shusheh as Indonesian Honorary Consul to Palestine, in Amman, Jordan, Sunday.

The ceremony was held at the Indonesian embassy and attended by ambassadors of ASEAN and OIC member countries, the foreign ministry said in a statement, Monday.

Maha Abu-Shusheh is based in Ramallah, West Bank, Palestine.

Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi was supposed to go to Ramallah for the inauguration, but Israeli occupation forces denied Retno Marsudi and her accompanying delegation entry into the West Bank, Wafa news agency of Palestine reported.

Retno Marsudi was expected to meet later on with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and her counterpart Riyad al-Malki.

As a result, Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Malki went to meet his counterpart Marsudi in Amman, where they discussed bilateral ties among other mutual concerns, Wafa reported.

"In recognition of the historical and unique ties between Palestine and Indonesia and this countrys supportive stance with the Palestinian people, al-Malki traveled to Amman to meet with his Indonesian counterpart," the Palestinian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Israel stopped the Indonesian delegation from entering Palestine because Minister Retno refused to go to Jerusalem and to meet Israeli government officials.

There are no diplomatic ties between Israel and Indonesia, the largest Muslim country in the world.

Indonesia has been committed to supporting Palestine in its struggle to gain its independence.

Bilateral ties with Israel would only be established when the Zionist regime ends its occupation of Palestine.

On Saturday, Minister Retno received Chairperson of the Indonesian-Jordanian Parliamentarian Friendship Madallah Tarawneh at the Indonesian ambassadors residence in Amman.

They discussed issues on religious tolerance and the roles of women in government and parliament.

Indonesia hosted the Fifth Extraordinary OIC Summit on Palestine and Al Quds Al Sharif in Jakarta on March 6 and 7, 2016.(*)

Editor: Heru Purwanto
Copyright © ANTARA 2016