Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto on Wednesday said he would be willing to establish diplomatic relations with Israel if it recognized a Palestinian state, as he held talks with French President Emmanuel Macron in Jakarta.
Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim-majority nation, has no formal ties with Israel and has consistently called for a two-state solution to the decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
“On various occasions, I have said that Indonesia sees that two-state solution and the freedom of Palestine is the only way to achieve the true peace,” Subianto told a news conference.
“I also emphasized that we must acknowledge and guarantee Israel’s rights as a sovereign country that must be paid attention to and guaranteed safety.”
“Indonesia has stated that once Israel recognizes Palestine, Indonesia is ready to recognize Israel and open the diplomatic relationship.”
The Israeli government is unequivocally opposed to Palestinian statehood. Several centrist lawmakers in the opposition have also expressed opposition in recent weeks, though some left-wing politicians have criticized them for it.
Nearly 150 countries recognize the Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority as the State of Palestine, which has observer status at the United Nations but is not a full member as the UN Security Council has not voted to admit it.
In May 2024, Ireland, Norway and Spain took the step of recognizing a Palestinian state, infuriating Israel. Other European governments, including France, have not.
In a joint statement Wednesday, France and Indonesia called for progress on “mutual recognition” between Israel and the Palestinians at an international conference, co-chaired by France and Saudi Arabia, meant to resurrect the idea of a two-state solution next month.
“The conference should… restore a political prospect of a peaceful settlement of this conflict, which should allow for an irreversible path towards the realization of a Palestinian State, (and) mutual recognition between Israel and Palestine,” the statement said.
Last month, Macron said that France would recognize a Palestinian state within months, which Netanyahu denounced as a “huge prize for terror.”
The French leader is in Indonesia seeking to deepen trade and defense ties, on the second leg of a three-country tour promoting France as a balancing power between the US and China.
On Monday, Macron, along with the UK’s Keir Starmer and Canada’s Mark Carney, issued a joint statement in which they condemned Israel’s handling of the humanitarian situation in Gaza, and called on Israel to immediately halt military action in the enclave.
Netanyahu, in response, noted that the Hamas terror group had welcomed the statement, and said this meant the three leaders were “on the wrong side of justice, [on] the wrong side of humanity, [and] on the wrong side of history.”