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Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia – Recently, news emerged of negotiations on the normalization of relations between Israel and Indonesia, sponsored by the United States (the United States promised billions of funds as a sweetener for Indonesia. However, so far Israel and Indonesia have been really close – the commercial point of view.
News of the normalization first appeared from Israeli diplomatic sources as reported by Times of Israel Channel 12 on Sunday (12/13/2020) yesterday. The following news item explicitly expressed the promise of billions of US dollars that the government could enjoy if normalization takes place.
Bloomberg reported that US President Donald Trump has promised additional soft-rate financing if the Jokowi administration softens and is willing to join the four Muslim-majority countries in the Arab and African regions that have already normalized relations.
The media quoted Adam Boehler, CEO of the United States International Development Finance Corporation (DFC). In an interview at the King David Hotel in Jerusalem on Monday (12/21/2020), he said he could multiply his $ 1 billion portfolio if Indonesia normalized or accepted Israeli sovereignty.
However, Foreign Ministry spokesman Teuku Faizasyah said his party had never had contact with Israel. So far, the Indonesian government has firmly held that there is no recognition of Israeli sovereignty if there is no recognition of Palestinian sovereignty.
“There are two things that can be conveyed here. One, the Foreign Ministry has never had any contact with Israel. Second, when conducting foreign policy, the Foreign Ministry towards Palestine is consistent with the mandate of the constitution, “Teuku said through a brief message to CNBC Indonesia on Monday (12/14/2020).
During President Jokowi’s tenure, the normalization speech had been delivered by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu since 2016. He saw “many opportunities for bilateral cooperation” and said the reasons that hindered this relationship between the two countries were irrelevant.
However, because the conditions regarding Palestinian independence had not yet been met, Indonesia rejected the offer and opened Indonesia’s first honorary consul (Konhor) in Palestine, Maha Abu-Shusheh.
The Israeli authorities prohibited Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi’s entourage from entering the Palestinian territories to carry out the inauguration, so the inauguration was moved to the city of Amman, Jordan. In 2017, Indonesia retaliated by banning Israeli planes carrying Netanyahu from entering Indonesian territory while visiting Australia.
In 2018, Israel retaliated by prohibiting Indonesian citizens from entering Israel for pilgrimage and tourism purposes. This rule applies until now.
