The meeting between the Indonesian foreign minister and Egypt's Permanent Representative to the United Nations convened at the UN Headquarters in New York, the United States, on Monday (May 6) local time.
"We discussed about the security situation in Gaza," Minister Marsudi remarked.
At the meeting, both engaged in an exchange of ideas to avert matters from further deteriorating between Israel and the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
"Now, we (Indonesia and Egypt) hold a seat of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), so we exchange ideas, opinions, or information on steps to be taken to stave off any escalation in the Gaza Strip. Providentially, a ceasefire has been declared," Minister Marsudi remarked.
"In connection with the situation in Gaza, as a close neighboring country, Egypt has played a role in mediating between Hamas and Fatah for a reconciliation," he pointed out.
Moreover, Foreign Minister Marsudi affirmed that the Indonesian Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Dian Triansyah Djani had got in touch with the Palestinian ambassador to the United Nations to get information on the current situation in Gaza.
Moreover, the Indonesian foreign minister will make contact with UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres for holding a discussion on the situation in Gaza.
"This is Indonesia's proactive stance to establish communication. We are optimistic on being able to play our part in the peace efforts," Minister Marsudi remarked.
Reuters had earlier reported that a ceasefire to stop the rise of deadly fighting in the Gaza Strip and southern Israel was observed on Monday following a barrage of several hundred Palestinian rocket attacks and Israeli air strikes.
The latest round of violence broke out three days back, intensifying on Sunday, when rockets and missiles from Hamas Islamist-run Gaza claimed the lives of four civilians in Israel, the local health officials remarked. Israeli strikes siphoned off the lives of 21 Palestinians, over half of them being civilians, on the weekend, Gaza health authorities revealed.
Israel has fallen short of acknowledging ceasefire deals with Gaza militant groups, which it views as terrorist organizations. However, officials in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government have hinted at a reciprocal return to quiet.
One of the Israeli officials suggest that Israel’s principal enemy Iran, which majorly financed the Islamic Jihad movement, has fueled the Gaza escalation.
Reeling under the impact of renewed US sanctions and Israeli strikes against its military assets in Syria, Iran might be compounding Palestinian violence as a means of sending across a clear message to Israel, “we will get back at you through (Islamic) Jihad and Gaza,” Israeli Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz told the Israeli radio station 90 FM.
Israel’s military stated that southern Israeli cities and villages had, since Friday, been pounded by over 600 rockets and other projectiles, of which more than 150 were intercepted. The military claimed to have shelled or conducted air strikes on some 320 militant sites.
Reporter: Yuni / Azis Kurmala
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
Copyright © ANTARA 2019
