Indonesian House receives Hamas representatives

The Indonesian House of Representatives (DPR) leadership received Hamas representatives arriving from Palestine to garner support from the Indonesian government for the Palestinians to achieve their rights here on Friday.

"We support (the setting up of a Hamas office in Indonesia) in keeping with what the government of Jokowi and JK had expressed during their presidential debate," DPR deputy speaker Fahri Hamzah remarkeed.

He said the support is also given based on the 1945 Constitution, which states that Indonesia supports every nation to achieve independence.

According to him, the arrival of the Hamas representatives is an indication that Palestine is not yet independent.

"We support (the setting up of a Hamas representative office in Indonesia), but how it would be implemented is up to the government and the House Commission I to decide," he affirmed.

Abubakar Alhabsyi, a politician from the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), said in the meeting that the Hamas delegation, led by Hamas deputy head for political affairs Abu Umar Muhammad, had discussed cooperation with Indonesia.

Alhabsyi affirmed that the Hamas representatives were keen to meet friends from the worlds biggest Muslim country and its leaders.

"The essence of the meeting is brotherhood to develop relations and to appoint a kind of representative in Indonesia similar to an ambassador," he emphasized.

He stated that the meeting was fruitful with regard to appreciation for the Palestinian struggle.

Alhabsyi said he saw a different pattern between the Palestinian government and Hamas in their appreciation for Palestinian fighters.

"It will indeed be good as Hamas will have a representative in Indonesia. The Palestinian government and Hamas have a different pattern of appreciation for Palestinian fighters," he stated.

Abu Umar Muhammad confirmed that his visit was intended to seek Indonesias support with regard to the current pressures, which are escalating, while referring to the recent Al-Aqsa mosque incident.

He pointed out that Jerusalem has now been besieged by housing estates, and traditional Arabic names in the areas have now been changed to Jewish names.

"They have increasingly pressurized the Arabs, and so we hope Indonesia could give maximum support to abort the Israeli plan," he noted.

He sought the Indonesian governments approval to allow Hamas to open a representative office in Indonesia as a testament of its support for Hamas.

He revealed that Hamas had opened representative offices in India, Moscow, Germany, and others, and so it would be appropriate for it to also have a representative office in Indonesia.

"Although some Indonesian people have already been there, we will continue to expect greater support from Indonesia with regard to political terms," he stated.

The seven-member Hamas delegation was received by the DPR leadership including House Speaker Setya Novanto, Fahri Hamzah, and Deputy Speaker Fadli Zon. The meeting was also attended by the PKS faction Chairman Jazuli Juwaini and faction members such as Abu Bakar Al Habsyi and Refrizal.

Source: ANTARA