Israeli officials on Thursday confirmed Israeli media reports that the world’s largest Islamic state is open to normalizing relations with Israel in preparation for joining the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
Possibility of normalization agreement first raised revealed According to Israel’s largest daily newspaper, Yedioth Afronos on Thursday. The report said “careful negotiations” have been underway between Israel, Indonesia and the OECD for the past three months.
Indonesia applied to join the 38 OECD countries in February, but current member Israel is opposed The reason Jakarta is in favor of joining is that the OECD informally encourages all member countries to have strong diplomatic relations with each other, so they can cooperate in policy-making.
Indonesia currently has no diplomatic relations with Israel, but there are informal contacts behind the scenes, and the two countries enjoy approximately $500 million in trade annually. Israel has reportedly expressed its intention to support Indonesia’s membership in the OECD after the normalization of relations between the two countries.
Yedioth Aronos OECD Secretary-General Matthias Cormann wrote a letter to Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz two weeks ago stating that Indonesia would “establish diplomatic relations with all OECD member states before a decision to join the OECD is taken.” He was reported to have been informed that “we need to do so.” ”
Mathias Cormann, Secretary-General of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), arrives to attend the G20 Summit in Nusa Dua, Indonesia’s resort island of Bali, on November 15, 2022. (WILLY KURNIAWAN/POOL/AFP via Getty)
Mr. Cormann assured Mr. Katz that Indonesia’s accession would not proceed without the “unanimous agreement of all member states, including Israel.”
This assurance was important because the OECD had initially asked Israel to quietly allow Indonesia to participate. Katz said that would not be possible as long as Indonesia harshly criticized the Gaza war and supported South Africa’s alleged genocide in The Hague.
Mr. Cormann even bypassed Mr. Katz and appealed directly to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, but the Israeli leader supported his foreign minister and insisted that Indonesia’s normalization of relations was a firm condition for OECD membership.
Mr. Katz responded with enthusiasm to Mr. Cormann’s latest letter, calling for Indonesia to “make positive changes in its policy towards Israel, in particular abandoning its hostile policy towards Israel and ushering in a path to full diplomatic relations between all sides.” ” I was convinced.
of era of israel (TOI) Quote An anonymous Israeli official confirmed this. Yedioth Aronos The report included details that Indonesian authorities reviewed Cormann’s letter and approved everything the OECD chief said before it was sent to Katz.
Indonesia’s recognition of Israel would be a world-shaking development amidst widespread Muslim anger over Israel’s self-defense operation against Hamas’ genocidal terrorists in the Gaza Strip. Indonesian leaders Said In the past, relations with Israel would not develop until the Palestinians were granted an independent state.
there were rumor Last year, Indonesia was working on a normalization deal with Israel before the brutal Hamas terrorist attack on October 7, but Israel’s reaction to the attack made normalization a no-no for Indonesian President Joko Widodo. It became politically impossible. According to some reports, the Hamas attack occurred days before President Widodo officially announced the normalization of diplomatic relations with Israel.
A Muslim woman holds a poster during a protest against Israel in front of the U.S. Embassy in Jakarta, Indonesia, Friday, May 21, 2021. (Dita Alankara/The Associated Press)
Hamas committed rapes and murders precisely because it feared that Israel was becoming too friendly with Islamic countries, and the terrorists wanted to provoke an Israeli reaction that would make further progress impossible. Some people think that it is. President Joe Biden is prominent among these observers; was suggested Immediately after the Hamas attack, it claimed its aim was to prevent growing ties between Israel and Saudi Arabia.
It is Israel’s move that suggests the possibility of developing friendly relations with Indonesia. To give permission Indonesia will partner with Jordan on Tuesday to airlift relief supplies to Gaza. The decline had symbolic significance as Tuesday marked the beginning of the Islamic holiday of Eid al-Fitr.
Indonesia’s next president, Prabowo Subianto, appears to be stepping up his game. obedient He has been more active than Mr. Widodo in normalizing relations with Israel, perhaps because he wants to develop closer ties with the United States. Subianto spoke about his campaign to increase imports of food and agricultural technology from Israel. When he was photographed meeting with Israeli officials in November, Subianto insisted there was nothing wrong with talking to Israelis about issues of national interest.
The timeline for a future normalization agreement is unclear, but clues may lie with Japan. impending chairmanship At the OECD Ministerial Council meeting in May. Japan has been promoting Indonesia’s membership for more than a decade, and this year also happens to be Japan’s 60th anniversary of membership, making it an auspicious moment for Japan and Indonesia to see their dreams come true. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, struggling in public opinion pollsin great need of an auspicious moment.
