Indonesia Urges OIC to Take Concrete Action to Defend Palestinian Rights

Jakarta, The Gulf Observer: Indonesia has called on the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to take concrete and sustainable measures to address threats posed by Israel and protect the rights of the Palestinian people.

Deputy Foreign Minister Anis Matta made the call during the OIC’s 23rd Extraordinary Session of the Council of Foreign Ministers held in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on August 27. He represented Foreign Minister Sugiono at the meeting.

According to Indonesia’s Foreign Ministry, Matta said the OIC should uphold its credibility through practical and sustained measures rather than limiting its response to statements and condemnations.

Indonesia, he said, regretted the continued violence and alleged violations of international law by Israel, including the expansion of illegal settlements, annexation of Palestinian territory and the killing of Palestinian civilians.

Matta described the situation in the Middle East as increasingly critical, noting that the consequences of ongoing regional conflicts were extending beyond the region.

He said Israel had taken advantage of the international community’s attention being diverted by other conflicts, enabling what Indonesia described as continued violations against Palestinians. He added that the situation was also testing the OIC’s ability to act collectively.

Matta called on the OIC to make full use of its institutional mechanisms to pursue accountability for alleged Israeli violations and to consider violence committed by illegal settlers as acts of terrorism.

In addition to the Palestinian issue, the extraordinary session approved Mauritanian diplomat Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed as OIC Secretary General for the 2026–2031 term. He will succeed Chadian diplomat Hissein Brahim Taha.

On the sidelines of the meeting, Matta held bilateral discussions with the foreign ministers of Sudan, Palestine and Qatar, as well as deputy foreign ministers from Türkiye and Somalia. The talks covered bilateral cooperation and regional and global issues of mutual interest.

Indonesia’s Foreign Ministry said the country’s participation in the OIC extraordinary session was in line with its constitutional mandate to contribute to the promotion of world peace, particularly efforts to end conflicts in the Middle East whose repercussions have affected other parts of the world.