"My children and I wear this sash to demonstrate our sympathy for Palestine," the governor told journalists on the sidelines of the Eid al-Fitr prayer held in the backyard of his house in the Lebak Bulus neighborhood, South Jakarta.
Starting at 7 a.m. Western Indonesia Time (WIB), some 30 people, including Baswedan's wife and children, were present during the prayer, which was led by Ustadz Afifudien Rohaly.
Following the prayer, conducted under strict COVID-19 protocols, Rohaly delivered the Idul Fitri sermon.
Palestinians again grabbed the attention of international media after being brutalized by the Israeli occupation forces that raided the Al Aqsa Mosque compound in the final days of the holy month of Ramadhan and launched air strikes on Gaza.
According to Aljazeera, before bombing the besieged Gaza Strip at the end of Ramadhan that claimed the lives of 56 Palestinians, including 14 children, and wounded at least 300 others, the Israeli security personnel raided the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound.
They attacked the mosque goers with "rubber-coated steel rounds, stun grenades, and tear gas" in an escalation, triggered by what Aljazeera reported as the Jewish government's plans to "forcefully expel Palestinians from the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood in occupied East Jerusalem to make way for Israeli settlers".
Indonesian President Joko Widodo was vociferous in denouncing the use of force against Palestinian worshippers at Al-Aqsa Mosque, perceived by Muslims as the third-holiest site after Mecca and Medina, and the forced eviction of Palestinian families from their homes in Sheikh Jarrah.
"The forced evictions of Palestinians from Sheikh Jarrah, East Jerusalem, and the use of force against Palestinian civilians at Al-Aqsa Mosque should not be ignored. Indonesia condemns these actions," Widodo noted on his Twitter account @jokowi early this week.
According to the head of state, Indonesia had urged the UN Security Council to take action on repeated violations committed by Israel.
Indonesia will continue to side with the Palestinian people in their struggle for independence, he remarked.
Jakarta's political stance on the Palestinian issue has remained unchanged since the era of President Soekarno.
In 1962, the founding father of Indonesia had made a statement that has since then served as a guiding beacon in the Indonesian foreign policy on Palestinian issues.
"As long as the freedom of Palestine is yet to be returned to the Palestinians, Indonesia will forever stand in defiance against the occupation by Israel," Soekarno had stated.
Meanwhile, Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) Deputy Chairperson Buya Anwar Abbas has appealed to leaders worldwide to condemn and halt the violence by Israeli soldiers against Palestinians, particularly against children and women.
"The Israeli army’s violence against children, mothers, and parents of the Palestinian people in the city of Jerusalem is clearly unacceptable and intolerable. The world must condemn and stop this barbaric act," Abbas noted in a statement this week.
The MUI deputy chairperson emphasized that the suffering, deaths, and injustice on account of these violent acts had triggered radicalism and terrorism.
"Hence, if the world wants to be safe, secure, and peaceful as well as avoid acts of radicalism and terrorism, world leaders must end and stop all forms of colonization on this Earth, especially colonization in Baitul Maqdis or Jerusalem, where Israel has curbed the freedom of Palestinian people to worship apart from taking away their land," he stated. Related news: Widodo condemns Al-Aqsa violence, eviction of Palestinians
Related news: NU condemns Israeli attacks on al-Aqsa, calls for diplomatic step
Related news: World leaders must condemn Israel army's violence on Palestinians: MUI
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Translator: Dewa KSW, Rahmad Nasution
Editor: Suharto
Copyright © ANTARA 2021
