Jakarta (ANTARA) - Indonesia expressed support for the full membership of Palestine in the United Nations during the 19th Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) in Kampala, the capital of Uganda, on Saturday.

Deputy Foreign Minister Pahala Nugraha Mansury voiced Indonesia's support for Palestine's full UN membership at the NAM Summit by underlining the importance of the spirit of the Asia-Africa Conference.

The 1955 Bandung Conference that laid the foundations of NAM highlighted the importance of developing nations' collective struggle for freedom, justice, equality, and development, Mansury said.

To this end, the Bandung spirit must always be upheld as an inspiration by the NAM members in facing global challenges, particularly how to create an independent Palestine and maintain developing nations' interests.

Mansury was quoted by the Indonesian Foreign Ministry's press statement on Sunday that during the Kampala Summit, Indonesia called for all NAM members' unity to push for a ceasefire and peace process in Gaza.

He said that Indonesia also appealed to the NAM members to fight for the full UN membership of Palestine, adding that five NAM members currently uphold the non-permanent membership status at the UN Security Council.

Therefore, he said they are hopefully able to voice the NAM's collective stance on the Palestinian cause.

On the sidelines of the NAM Summit in Kampala, Mansury also met with Palestinian and South African foreign ministers to discuss the Palestinian issues, according to the Indonesian Foreign Ministry's press statement.

At the meeting, he reiterated Indonesia's consistent support for the People of Palestine's struggle for independence and voiced Jakarta's support for South Africa's filing a case against Israel at the International Criminal Court (ICC).

Fresh armed conflict erupted between Israel and Palestine following a surprise attack by Hamas on Israel early in the morning on October 7, 2023.

Since then, the Israeli occupation forces have continued their bombardment, and ground operations in Gaza have led to the deaths of more than 24 thousand Palestinian civilians, many of whom are women and children.

Hosted by Uganda, which took over the NAM's leadership from Azerbaijan for the 2024-2027 term, the Kampala Summit was held on January 15-20, highlighting the theme "Deepening Cooperation for Shared Global Affluence".

The NAM's 19th Summit, which was participated in by representatives of NAM's 120 member states and observers from several countries and international organizations, has agreed on four documents.

According to the Indonesian Foreign Ministry's press statement, one of the documents is the NAM's political declaration, which pushes for peace in Palestine.

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Translator: Yashinta DP, Rahmad Nasution
Editor: Bayu Prasetyo
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