Leader of Hamas urges Indonesia to mobilize support for Palestine

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AA) - Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh urged Indonesian President Joko Widodo on Tuesday to mobilize support against Israeli aggression in Palestine.

"We call on you to urgently act and mobilize Arab, Islamic and international support, and to take a clear and firm stance to oblige the Israeli occupation to immediately halt its aggression and terror on the besieged Gaza Strip," Haniyeh said in a letter sent to Widodo, Anadolu Agency reported.

He also encouraged Widodo to pressure Israeli to cede its violations against occupied Jerusalem and its people, including erecting illegal settlements, forced evictions in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood, racial discrimination and “to take its hands off the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque” as well as violating the rights of worshippers.

Haniyeh also prayed for Widodo and for “more progress” for Indonesia.

Presidential spokesman Fajdruel Rachman did not respond to Anadolu Agency's request for comment regarding the letter.

At least 227 Palestinians have been killed, including 64 children and 38 women, and 1,620 others injured in Israeli attacks across the blockaded territory since May 10, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.

Meanwhile, 28 Palestinians, including 4 children, have been killed in the occupied West Bank as a result of clashes with Israeli forces.

Twelve Israelis have been killed in Palestinian rocket fire from the Gaza Strip.

Recent tensions that started in East Jerusalem during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan spread to Gaza as a result of Israeli assaults on worshippers in the flashpoint Al-Aqsa Mosque compound and the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood.

*Writing by Ibrahim Mukhtar in Ankara