REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- Indonesian President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) appreciates the Vatican's continued stance and calls for peace in Palestine and supports a two-state solution, namely Israel and Palestine.

“As we all know, conflicts and wars are taking place in different parts of the world, including in Palestine, which have resulted in more than 40,000 casualties,” President Jokowi said in remarks at a meeting with the world's top Catholic Church leader and Vatican head of state Pope Francis along with the diplomatic corps and community representatives at the State Palace in Jakarta on Wednesday.

The president said Indonesia and the Vatican were committed to spreading a spirit of peace and tolerance amid an increasingly turbulent world, including conflicts in the Middle East.

“Because war will not benefit anyone, war will only bring suffering and misery to small communities,” President Jokowi said.

Pope Francis's visit to Indonesia is the third time after Pope Paul VI in 1970 and Pope John Paul II's visit in 1989.

Pope Francis as the leader of the world's Catholics makes an apostolic journey to Asia Pacific in September 2024. There are four countries to visit including Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, East Timor, and Singapore.

Indonesia became the first country to visit on September 3 to 6, 2024.

The 11-day trip to the Asia-Pacific region or to be exact on September 3-13, 2024 will be the 87-year-old Holy Father's longest visit since his 11 years leading Catholics.

Indonesia was chosen as the first country Pope Francis visited because in this country of 279 million people and the majority of Muslims, the Christian population is about 20.5 million people with 8.5 million of them Catholics.

Horrific number of deaths

The UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process on Monday (2/9) denounced the number of deaths of Palestinian civilians during Israel's incursion into the Gaza Strip.

“Today, I returned to Gaza and witnessed firsthand the catastrophic impact of the Israeli invasion. The scale of the destruction is enormous, the humanitarian needs are enormous and constantly increasing, as well as civilians continue to bear the brunt of this conflict,” Tor Wennesland said in an official statement.

“I unequivocally condemn the appalling number of civilian deaths in Gaza,” he added.

Wennesland had visited a polio vaccination center, and added that the reappearance of the disease “is another threat to children in the Gaza Strip. I welcome the humanitarian pause to allow the vaccination campaign to take place.”

The United Nations launched a polio vaccination campaign for children under the age of 10 in the central Gaza Strip on Sunday (1/9), after the disease was detected there for the first time in 25 years.

Reiterating his call to implement a ceasefire, Wennesland said he would continue to engage with all stakeholders.

“An agreement is essential to saving lives, reducing regional tensions, and allowing the United Nations, in cooperation with the Palestinian Authority, to accelerate efforts to meet the urgent needs of the population of Gaza.

“This ongoing conflict has destroyed the lives of many families. It has to stop,” he continued.

The ongoing war in Gaza has killed more than 40,700 Palestinians, most of whom are women and children, as well as injuring more than 94,100 others, according to local health authorities.

The ongoing blockade of the region has led to severe shortages of food, clean water, and medicine, leaving much of the region devastated.

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