REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- Chairman of the House of Representatives' Commission I Mahfudz Siddiq has deplored senior Indonesian journalists' meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Tel Aviv, on Monday.

"The visit obviously contradicts the stand that Indonesia has maintained from the beginning of being opposed to Israeli occupation of Palestine and in support of Palestinian independence," Siddiq said here on Tuesday.

Furthermore, President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) reiterated the Indonesian stand at the extraordinary summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) held in Jakarta earlier this month.

As a matter of fact, President Jokowi has called for a boycott of Israeli products made in the West Bank.

"Israel also has never paid attention to international protests against its actions which continue to victimize Palestinian civilians," he said.

He said he has no idea about the agenda of the visit that senior Indonesian journalists took Israel, particularly after Indonesia hosted the OIC summit.

He believed that Israel and Prime Minister Netanyahu are worried about the stand of President Jokowi and the Indonesian government and therefore, the visit was part of their efforts to find lobbyists that can be effective.

"I also don't know how they were able to enter Israel, while two Indonesian foreign ministers, Marty Natalegawa and Retno LP Marsudi, were denied entry to Palestine by Israel. It is likely that they used ordinary green passports to enter Israel via Europe," he said.

Judging by Netanyahu's statement made during the meeting with the Indonesian journalists, Israel wants to start a new chapter in its relations with Indonesia. This means that the Jewish state wants new diplomatic ties with Indonesia.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry said on its website that Netanyahu met with senior Indonesian journalists who came to Israel at the invitation of the ministry, on Monday.

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