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RI CONDEMNS ISRAELI EXPANSIONISM

Jakarta, 9 June 2008

The Indonesian government has condemned Israel's plan to build 884 more houses in East Jerusalem because it could derail peace negotiation efforts with Palestine, Antara reported.

The government called on the international community and the United Nations to pay attention to the planned settlement expansion given that the issue is a basic factor for the continuation of peace negotiations, the Indonesian Foreign Ministry said Thursday in an official statement.

"Indonesia hopes that Israel will meet the commitment it made in the joint Israeli-Palestine declaration issued at the Annapolis meeting," the statement said.

The government supports UN Security Council resolutions which demand the return of all Arab lands being occupied by Israel, the recognition of the Palestinian people's right to self-determination and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state in their homeland with Al-Quds as-Syarif (East Jerusalem) as the capital city. This is based on "land for peace", the statement said.

An Israeli Housing Ministry spokesman recently announced that a tender would be held for the construction of houses in Har Homa and Pisgat Zeev, settlements which are part of Palestinian territories occupied by Israel in the 1967 war.