medcom.id, Jakarta: "Accept all my wealth to win the struggle," said a rich merchant from Palestine, Muhammad Ali Taher in 1944 in the midst of Indonesia's independence struggle.
The quote was taken from book titled Diplomacy of Indonesia Revolution in Foreign Affairs written by Indonesian independence figure M Zein Hassan.
The book mentioned Palestinian royalty, Syekh Muhammad Amin Al-Husaini, openly supported Indonesia's independence on September 6, 1944. After the announcement, streets in Palestine were filled with solidarity and support to Indonesia.
When Indonesia needed international acknowledgement as sovereign state following its independence proclamation on August 17, 1945. Palestine again, together wth Egypt, gave its support to the newly born state.
The acknowledgment from both Egypt and Palestine in 1947 was also the result of diplomacy done by H. Agus Salim through Ikhwanul Muslimin network in Palestine.
In the 1960s, Indonesia strengthened the solidarity between the to nations by supporting palestine against the Israeli occupation. The stance was openly shown by then President Soekarno in several speeches on international stages.
"As long as Palestine's independence is not given to the Palestinians, Indonesia will stand against Israel's colonialism," stated Soekarno in an interview in 1962.
The position was proven by rejecting Israel's participation in the Asian Games 1962 in Jakarta.
The shifting of power to Soeharto did not change Indonesia's support to Palestine. In 1984, Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) leader Yasser Arafat visited Jakarta. Arafat also attended Jakarta's Non-Block Summit in 1992 and 1993 by the invitation of Soeharto. In August 2000, Arafat again returned to Jakarta to meet with President Abdurrahman Wahid.
During Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's administration, Indonesia's support to the Palestinian independence was again strengthened. Indonesia's delegation at the United Nations (UN) gathered support for firm sanction against Israel for their military attack to Gaza and economic blockade against Palestine in 2008.
"Indonesia feels the urgency for UN Security Council to conduct a formal meeting and publish a resolution to force Israel to stop its aggression," stated President Yudhoyono during a UN General Assembly in 2010.
The latest result from the struggle in the UN forum is the official hoisting of Palestine's flag at the UN Headquarters in 2015.
President Yudhoyono also invited young Palestinian diplomats to study at Indonesian Foreign Ministry. It was one of the results of the state visit conducted by President Mahmoud Abbas to Indonesia in October 2007.
Currently, Indonesia's commitment to Palestine is getting stronger. President Joko Widodo took the leading role among Islamic countries to support Palestinian independence, through the Extraordinary Summit of OIC held in Jakarta this week.
"Today, the Islamic world leaders produced a resolution and concrete action plan for Palestine. OIC states condemned Israel's actions, as we call on the anti-colonization of Israel and the establishment of Palestine state based on the two-state solution," reiterated President Jokowi when closing the OIC Extraordinary Summit, Monday (3/7).
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