REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- The Indonesian government must play a greater role in halting Israeli attacks against Palestinians, President of the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) Mohammad Sohibul stated.
"Indonesia can play a greater role in stopping Israel's assault on the Al-Aqsa mosque," Sohibul emphasized here on Monday.
According to Sohibul, Indonesian leaders can utilize the country's position and influence in the international community to apply pressure on Israel to stop the assault by Israeli Zionist Jews on the Al-Aqsa compound.
"It is a violation of human rights and an attack on the freedom of a nation," he affirmed.
Indonesia should be proactive in amassing support of Islamic countries to apply pressure on Israel as Indonesia is the most populous Muslim country in the world.
Sohibul also warned that Indonesia had a history that cannot be overlooked, taking into account its relations with the Palestinians.
"Indonesia must support and assist the Palestinians, both politically and materially. We share an emotional bond with the Palestinians," he stated.
Sohibul urged Indonesia to boycott all Israeli products as part of its efforts to suppress the country.
"We do not have diplomatic relations with Israel, but there is a trade relationship. We must suppress Israel through the termination of trade relations," he affirmed.
Earlier, AFP reported that Muslims and Israeli police clashed at Jerusalem's flashpoint Al-Aqsa mosque compound on Sunday, hours before the start of the Jewish New Year, the latest violence over access to the site sacred to both faiths.
The clashes erupted, with tensions running high, after Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon last week outlawed two Muslim groups that confronted Jews visiting the compound.
Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas condemned what he called an Israeli police "attack" at the site, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that the authorities must prevent rioting at the sacred site.
Muslim witnesses claimed that the police entered the mosque, Islam's third holiest site, and caused damage. The police stated that they had only closed its doors to lock in rioters who were hurling stones, fireworks, and other objects.
According to a police statement, the rioters barricaded themselves in the mosque overnight with the aim of disrupting visits by Jews to the site ahead of the start of the New Year celebrations on Sunday evening.
It said the police raided the compound at around 6:45 a.m. local time (3:45 a.m. GMT) to ensure that visits could continue as usual. Protesters then targeted the police from within the mosque.
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