"A lot of people also want to be happy while visiting your country (Palestine), and we will support peace in Palestine," Kalla told Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Ibrahim Shtayyeh, as per the statement on Wednesday.
At a function to commemorate the 33rd anniversary of bilateral relations between Indonesia and Palestine here, Tuesday (October 25) evening, the former vice president expressed optimism that Palestine would be successful in achieving peace through negotiations.
He added that peaceful conditions in Palestine are prerequisite to achieving Palestinian independence.
"When I was young, demonstrations to support the Palestinian cause were rife, yet we must understand that we need more than demonstrations to achieve independence, we need peaceful solutions to achieve the goal," Kalla affirmed.
He remarked that the Indonesian people would welcome Palestinian independence achieved through the popular struggle of the Palestinian people.
Apart from Kalla, Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto, former foreign minister Alwi Shihab, and Yenny Wahid of the Muslim organization Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) also attended the function.
Earlier, Shtayyeh underlined that Indonesia must not be a mediator in the Israel-Palestinian conflict, as it always stands on the Palestinian side.
"We need Indonesia to not be the mediator, and Indonesia will not be a mediator because Indonesia is on the Palestinian side," the prime minister stated here, Tuesday.
According to Shtayyeh, Indonesia is always committed to supporting the Palestinian people to achieve independence as a sovereign state according to the pre-1967 border.
Shtayyeh said that the main issue in the Israel-Palestinian conflict is not on the mediation but on the refusal of the Israeli side to end their illegal occupation of Palestinian lands.
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Translator: Fransiska N, Nabil Ihsan
Editor: Sri Haryati
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